Raised in the Dark
by G. Novella
Summary: Voldemort decides to torture the Order in the worst way possible, by taking their children. When he disappears, those who escape Azkaban don't want anything to do with the kids, and can't hand them back. With no where to go, Wormy's forced to be in charge
1. The Meeting That Changed It All

**So this is an idea that just popped into my head recently. It is very much AU but will keep the elements of cannon such as horcruxes, prophecy, etc. Needless to say, James and Lily are very much alive in this story. **

**Please tell me what you think and whether I should continue this strand!**

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><p><strong>The Meeting that Changed it All<strong>

"My Lord," simpered Bellatrix, her heavily lidded eyes demure as she sat by his feet.

It was 1981, February, and the Death Eaters were gathered in the Riddle manor, their newest base. Voldemort sat in his regular throne, an elevated seat in the dining room. The Death Eaters of the highest caliber sat at the steps around him, and those of no value stood before him. The manor was decorated in dark greens and silvers, the best colors for the heir of Slytherin. He gazed upon his followers with lazy approval.

"My Lord," said Bellatrix reverently, her eyes caressing him with affection, "We await your words."

"Soon Bella, soon," he said, glancing at the clock in amusement. The second hand ticked by slowly, mocking those impatient followers amongst the crowd. Finally, it struck the twelve. The meeting had begun.

"Well, my lord?" asked Lucius with a glint of fire in his eyes. He was eager, just like the rest.

"Two days ago, I was in Berlin," began Voldemort, his high, cold voice filling the room, commanding the Death Eaters into reverent silence.

"I came across a sight that gave me an idea, an idea that seemed so very, interesting," said Voldemort, a smirk crossing his lips, as large gold cobra, Apep, slithered up his arm to rest on his shoulders. The snake was getting old, he'd need to get a new one.

"Yes my lord?" asked Rookwood, ever so ready to please.

"Tell me Lucius, you just had a son, as did you Nott, what wouldn't you do for them?" asked Voldemort suddenly, ignoring Rookwood, but smirking at his disappointment.

"Ah, anything my lord, and we hope to raise them to devote them to you," said Lucius. Voldemort noticed Lucius's fear evident in his eyes, and narrowed his eyes. Obviously neither man wanted their child entering his service too soon. That was no issue, he would be almighty anyways.

"Well, the Order, so very much like you, parents, uncles, aunts, family, that concept binds them so wholly, they'd defend their young to death," said Voldemort, toying with the idea.

"We'll destroy them and their young," cackled Dolohov, his thin face twisted in laughter.

"Why blast them to bits? Why not torture them?" asked Voldemort, his eyes alight with a chilling triumph.

"What do you mean my lord?" asked Crouch, leaning closer in the throng to be near his master.

"So many children within the Order, wouldn't it be nice to just take the children? Imagine, we take the children, raise them to hate their parents, and watch as they destroy their own family," said the Dark Lord, now having stood up. Apep shifted to raise his head and glare down at the assembled throng.

"My Lord!" breathed Bellatrix, "It is wonderful!"

"That is my mission for my loyal followers, capture children of a young age, related to the Order, and bring them to me. We will raise the very thing the Order values to be the source of their demise! Now go, and remember, those of you on missions are dismissed from complying! However, fail to bring me a child, and I'll take yours in return," said Voldemort, and with that, he disapparated, leaving a crowd of shaken and eager Death Eaters in his wake.

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><p>"You cannot be serious Lucius!" whispered Narcissa to her husband as they stood by the crib where their son, Draco, slept.<p>

"I am Narcissa! What am I to do?" he whispered back hoarsely, the nightmare of the previous meeting running through his mind.

"A child? He wants you them to kidnap children related to the Order?" asked Narcissa, her eyes wide with shock.

"That, or hand over their own children, if it weren't for the fact that I am in charge of recruiting new followers, I'd be drafted as well," said Lucius, glancing at his son with fear. The baby's blond hair fell over his forehead, and his pudgy fist clung to a green blanket.

"Who will be amongst the kidnappers?" asked Narcissa, her gaze landing on her son as well.

"Bellatrix and Rodolphus, Rabastan, Crouch, Dolohov, and Mulciber I believe will be the ones to get the children, Nott too is free from this mission," said Lucius to his wife.

"They won't hand their children over easily," said Narcissa softly.

"The McKinnons are already dead anyways, that leaves the Bones, the Prewetts, The Potters, and the The Longbottoms who have children," said Lucius quietly.

"Not all the McKinnons are dead though," reminded Narcissa, "Selena McKinnon married the Lovegood son."

"I forgot, she's pregnant now isn't she?" asked Lucius.

"Just gave birth," said Narcissa. There was a heavy silence in the room as they both stared at their child, horrified at the Dark Lord's latest proposal.

"I'll keep you informed my dear," said Lucius to her, leaving to return to his work. Narcissa watched him go quietly, before glancing at her son again. She clenched her fist, nothing would happen to Draco while she was around.


	2. Wards Begin To Fall

**We now begin to near the plot...**

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN THE STUFF YOU RECOGNIZZE THAT JKR OWNS!**

** TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!**

**Wards Begin to Fall**

The Order of the Phoenix was considered the most important, underground organization to fight Voldemort since the war had begun. Only recently had rumors begun floating about the Order, and were members being targeted. People said it was run by Dumbledore itself. No one knew the exact location of where they met. Some said it was a grand castle on the coast of England. Others said that they met in an underground, high-tech muggle headquarters somewhere in Ireland. Quite a few felt that the Order met in a customized, super warded cave off the shores of Bangkok.

If you ever asked an Order member to verify these stories, they'd laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Some would laugh so hard, that people would edge away and claim they'd gone mad. The truth was, the Order did not meet at any of these very conspicuous inconspicuous places that everyone liked to assume. One Sirius Black would often complain loudly at meetings over the fact that they're meeting place did not even have a good spot for his motorbike.

The truth was, the Order of the Phoenix met in a very shady pub, right at the basement. This pub was called the Hog's Head, and was run by an even shadier fellow by the name of Aberforth. Hardly anyone would place the man as the brother of Albus Dumbledore. Even fewer would assume he worked for the side of light once having stepped into his shanty little pub.

"Good evening everybody," said Dumbledore gravely as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"Evening Albus," said Elphias wearily.

"Albus," said Minerva curtly.

All around the room, weary exchanges of greetings were heard. The war was taking a toll on everyone. Despite having recently gained an upper-hand on the Death Eaters from Dumbledore's new spy, Severus Snape, who was artfully tailing behind the man, it was still an uphill battle.

"Snivellous is here," muttered Sirius angrily to Remus.

"He's on our side Sirius," reminded Remus gently.

"Doesn't mean we have to like him," said James.

"And there's no proof otherwise," said Peter squeakily. Inside however, he was squirming. One false move now and Snape would catch his duplicity. He was lucky all Death Eaters were offered the ability to wear a mask at the meetings, otherwise he'd have been caught much sooner.

"I have some bad news," said Dumbledore, taking his seat. Snape stood behind him, clearly uncomfortable at the hostility he was receiving from the Marauders and Moody.

"How bad?" asked Emmaline, her brown eyes steely.

"Voldemort has declared a desire to go after children," said Dumbledore gravely. The twinkle from his eyes was gone.

"Children?" asked Minerva quietly, a horrified look in her eyes.

"He wants to kill kids?" asked the Prewett brothers in unison, their eyes wide as they thought of their own nieces and nephews.

"That bastard," muttered Sturgis Podmore.

"Why though?" asked a disturbed Elphias Doge.

"He wants to kidnap the children related to the Order and raise to them to use against us," said Dumbledore gravely.

"No!" cried an aghast Arabella Figg, her hand clapped over her mouth.

"That's monstrous!" cried Remus, thinking of Fenrir Greyback and the proximity he would have near the children.

"I'm afraid so, Severus has informed me we have reasons to fear that Dolohov, Bellatrix, Mulciber, Rodolphus and Rabastan will be targeting the families," said Dumbledore.

"They won't be heading after Molly, will they?" asked Gideon, clearly worried.

"They'll head after anyone who had a connection to the Order in anyways," said Severus in a clipped tone, "So yes, the Weasley's are in danger."

"What method of action should we take from here then?" asked Fabian gruffly.

"I suggest strengthening the wards around the houses of the Order, Edgar in particular yours, what with Susan having been born only a few months ago. I also suggest fortifying the charms around the Lovegoods now that Marlene and the rest of the McKinnons are dead," said Dumbledore tiredly.

"What about us? Voldemort wants our sons dead," said Frank, indicating himself and James.

"I believe as long as Harry and Neville remain at all times in their homes, then they'll be safe," said Dumbledore.

"We last updated the wards around the houses seven months ago, when should we begin re-updating?" asked Dedalus nervously.

"What about Andromeda and Ted? They're related to me after all," said Sirius with worry.

"We need to re-update immediately, I suggest this week. I think the Tonks will be fine, they already are heavily warded to protect themselves from the wrath of the Lestranges, I believe," said Dumbledore.

"Alright, what age group are they targeting?" asked Alastor, watching Severus suspiciously.

"I believe they're targeting babies and toddlers, children who can easily be manipulated," said Severus in response.

"Do you have any idea where they might keep them, Severus?" asked Minerva.

"I am unsure, currently Headquarters is set up at the mansion of a Death Eater, though due to the Fidelius I am unable to say which, however, that doesn't mean they won't use any obscure place, I doubt the Dark Lord can handle children in his residence," said Severus curtly. A few people snorted at that.

"The sick son of a bitch first ruins our mental health, then deprives of us our lives, and finally emotionally tortures us, and now he wants our kids?" asked James harshly.

"That's the gist of it Potter, glad you could keep up," said Snape rudely.

"Severus," said Dumbledore warningly, as James made to stand.

"James," said Remus warningly.

"Anyways, I suggest you head home and fortify whatever wards you can, we have little time to prepare," said Dumbledore.

"Do you know when they'll attack?" asked Aberforth gruffly.

"They're preparing, I suspect the attacks will begin in the next few weeks or so," said Snape brusquely.

"Well, let's be fortified to take them down," said Moody.

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><p>Molly Weasley woke up on a normal Sunday morning in mid-March, unaware of how her life was about to change for the worse. She was now four months pregnant with her seventh child. Her six sons were all ecstatic about the new addition. She had given up hoping for a girl, and was now comfortable with the idea of a seventh boy. Yet she was finding it difficult to alter the name Ginerva for a boy.<p>

She headed downstairs and began to make the morning tea and breakfast for her family. Baby Ronald wouldn't wake for another hour or so, and she had the entire morning to herself. Her short, red brown hair was pulled back in a small pony tail out of her eyes. She pulled on her favorite blue apron, the one that matched Arthur's eyes, and began to prepare a lavish breakfast for her family.

As she headed downstairs, she saw Errol, her brother's owl. Immediately, she frowned and took the letter from the owl. If her brothers sent letters, it meant they were about to embark on a dangerous mission. She didn't like to think of them in a dangerous situation.

_Dear Molly, _

_We have reason to believe we found a nest of vipers in our backyard. We plan to dig them out with a few other friends today. Don't cook dinner for us tonight since were going for a firework show, send a Patronus like we taught you to if anything goes wrong and you need help. Have fun cooking, _

_Love,_

_The Prewetts_

The letter made her frown. Vipers obviously meant they were going after Death Eaters, and they were doing something dangerous. She bit her lower lip in worry, and glanced out the window, half-expecting the Death Eaters to show up on her doorstep.

Ever since they had told her that Death Eaters may target her, she had been twice as paranoid. Bill, Charlie and Percy were all trained to Floo to Muriel's in case of danger. Both Bill and Charlie knew to grab the nearest baby and go. She'd grab the farthest. Percy was far too young to Floo with a baby. Arthur returned earlier from work in case of emergency, but that didn't make her any less scared.

She glanced over at the red stone that now stayed in the kitchen, permanently above Arthur's clock. The brighter it burned, the stronger the wards were. She felt relieved seeing the bright, familiar orange glow, and set to making breakfast.

"Good morning mum," said Bill, an hour later. He had come downstairs with the now fully dressed twins, Charlie and Percy.

"Morning Molly," said Arthur, beaming at her. She smiled back. Her men were amazing, getting up together and coming downstairs.

"Morning Arthur," she said, kissing his cheek.

"Breakfast ready yet?" asked Charlie eagerly, bouncing over to see the pancake stacks.

"I get first pick!" cried Percy, chasing after Charlie.

"Boys, settle down!" cried Molly, turning around from her husband. Arthur could be heard chuckling.

"Waah!" cried Baby Ronald from upstairs.

"I'll get it," said Arthur jovially, turning to fetch his son.

"Alright, and I'll sort out the breakfast situation," said Molly with a smile to her husband.

Amidst all the chaos, nobody noticed the first signs of flickering on the red jewel.


	3. The First Abduction

**DISCLAIMER: PLOT IS THE ONLY THING THAT BELONGS TO ME **

**I'm super excited by the positive reviews I've been receiving! I'm glad people are enjoying it. Just so you know, we'll be flipping perspectives a lot in this story to get a three-dimensional view.**

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><p><strong>The First Abduction <strong>

It was mid-afternoon. The kids were in the living room as it was raining and she absolutely forbade them from going out. She sat in her favorite blue chair, knitting a new blanket for the baby to come. She hummed an old nursery rhyme under her breath. Across the room, Fred and George were finger-painting. She could already see two pots of paint had spilled over, and at the moment, it looked like they were more interested in painting the walls. However, she let them be to enjoy her quiet moment. Bill was helping Percy read a book about King Arthur. Charlie was playing some sort of adventure game with his toy dragon, Totty. Upstairs, she had put Ron down for a nap. It was moments like these that Molly cherished.

"Mum, can I grab something to feed Totty?" asked Charlie eagerly.

"Check the pantry, I think there are some biscuits," said Molly, not wanting to get up.

"Alright," said Charlie, and off he bounced.

A few minutes later, he returned with two large biscuits, one in his mouth, and the other in Totty's. He was frowning, which made Molly curious.

"Mum, why is the red gem turning black?" he asked curiously.

In that instant, Molly felt her entire heart stop. She heard her knitting needles clang as they fell from her hands to the ground. Without thinking she ran into the kitchen, pushing Charlie out of the way slightly, and entered the kitchen. On the wall, the bright red gem was flickering feebly, but only at the centre. She couldn't believe it. How could the Death Eaters have deteriorated the wards so quickly? She had just checked the gem at lunch and it was fine!

"Mum, is everything okay?" asked Bill, entering with a curious Charlie.

"Take the twins, both of you quick!" ordered Molly.

The two stared at her in disbelief. Had she lost her mind?

"What's going on, mum?" asked Charlie, as she pulled them both into the living room.

"Bill, Charlie, go grab the twins, Percy come quick. Take the Floo Powder and just throw it in the fire. It's set to one destination. Tell your Aunt Muriel we're under attack," said Molly sternly. Percy stared at her open-mouthed, his eyes filled with fear.

"Bill, take the twins and go, I'm getting Ron, quick Percy, go now!" she said frantically, as she exited the room, rushing to the baby. From outside, she could hear the bangs starting.

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><p>Bill stared open-mouthed after his mother. He had his suspicions when his Uncles Gideon and Fabian had started explaining the importance of quickness to him that something was wrong. But why were Death Eaters attacking them. He watched Percy nervously fumble with the powder as he threw it into the fireplace. With a whoosh, he was gone.<p>

"Get George, I've got Fred," said Bill quickly to Charlie, as he rushed over to his younger brothers.

He grabbed the baby in the red sweater with a large yellow 'F', and headed determinedly to the fireplace. He heard a sudden bang and almost jumped. The wards were failing. His eyes widened at that, and a new, unfamiliar feeling entered his stomach. He couldn't describe it. It gnawed at him, making him panicky and nervous. It was the first time in Bill's life that he would face absolute fear.

"What now?" asked Charlie. He turned to see his younger brother, looking close to tears, holding a bawling George who had been frightened by the bang. George was pulling on Charlie's shirt as Charlie held him over his shoulder.

"Take the powder and go, mum's going to be right behind us," ordered Bill nervously. Charlie looked at him with stricken eyes, but did as he was told for once.

"Totty!" cried Charlie, after realising he had forgotten his dragon. Immediately, though, Charlie disappeared into the Floo.

"Stupid dragon," said Bill, as Fred squirmed in his arms. He turned and ran and grabbed the stupid Dragon that was abandoned by the side of room. A second bang resounded in the field, and this time he saw the Dark Mark go into the air from outside. He couldn't breathe suddenly. Beside him, Fred sat at his feet crying and screaming in fear.

"No, no, no!" cried Bill, close to tears himself, as he saw the hooded figures entering the yard. He grabbed Fred nervously while shoving Totty into his pocket, and ran to the Floo.

The rain grew harder as it slapped against the window. He saw bright red lights flashing. His dad's shed was on fire. He felt a surge of anger boil in his stomach, but it was replaced by fear as he heard maniacal laughter. Fred's screams and tears had quieted down, and he could hear his little brother's soft cries as he clumsily stumbled over to the fireplace. He fumbled clumsily with the powder, as Fred clung to his arm and neck.

"Come out, come out kiddies! We just want to play!" cackled a maniacal, hoarse voice from outside. He recognized the use of a Sonorus charm. His uncle Bilius used them all the time at parties to create a scene.

"Come on Fred, we have to get out of here," said Bill, grabbing the Floo Powder and heading over to the fireplace.

Just as he lifted his hand, he watched the kitchen be blasted apart, and debris crashed all over the house. A hooded figure stepped over and laughed. It was a laugh that raised the hairs on the nape of his neck. He could just make out a pale, twisted face under that hood. Mean eyes darted around the kitchen.

He was frozen in place, and then Fred wailed loudly. Immediately, he threw his hand down, and disappeared, far away from the menacing hooded figure and his evil laugh.

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><p>Upstairs, Molly heard a bang, and she felt the house shake. Ron was crying loudly as she held him. She had sent a patronus to her brothers and Arthur after grabbing Ron. She made a mental note to thank Fabian and Gideon for teaching her and Arthur that after they became targets.<p>

Why oh why had she placed Ron down to nap in her room? She held her crying son to her chest, and felt her thoughts race. The fireplace wasn't an option, and she had no idea whether the anti-apparition wards were still in place. If she tried apparating, she could end up splinching herself, her unborn baby could die, Ron could get splinched, and more.

"Oh no, no, no," she cried softly, holding Ron to her chest.

"Mama no!" cried Ron against her chest, clapping his hands over his ears. The loud noises were terrifying him. She prayed that Bill had gotten the other kids out of the house and to Muriel's. She knew the elderly lady would care for them.

Then she saw it. The attic. It was a ridiculous idea, but if they hid up there with the ghoul, they could be alright. She ran as quickly as she could up into the sixth, empty bedroom that she and Arthur had decided would be Ron's, and possibly the new baby's when it was born. She opened the trap door, and watched the ladder come out. Slowly she stepped up into the attic, taking Ron with her.

It smelled terrible up there, but she ignored it. The ogre-like ghoul stared at her in awe for a few minutes. He then proceeded to come closer. She sent a quick hex at the ghoul to paralyze it, and then shut the trap door. She felt sick as she absorbed her new surroundings. There were dead insects littering the floor, and the ghoul was lying paralyzed, but she cramped herself in, and sent a quick air-freshening charm around the room to make it easier to breath. She held Ron and cast a silencing charm around them so she could comfort him. Then she waited.

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><p>Dolohov stared coldly at the room. The children had escaped. The Dark Lord would have his head if he returned from this with no children. Angry, he threw the floo powder jar across the room. It smashed through the window.<p>

"They're gone," said Travers, spitting on the floor.

"They had ten kids, and they're all gone," moaned some minor newbie to another.

"Why don't we follow them?" asked one eager newbie.

"Are you a moron? They could have a trap set up on the other end for us," spat Travers back at the newbie, effectively shutting him up.

"_Honenum Revelio!"_ hissed Dolohov towards the top of the house, not ready to give up. As if a miracle struck, an echo was heard. There was someone in the house!

"Find them," hissed Dolohov to the group. The flock spread out up the large house.

Meanwhile, he sat back and began to think. Where would he go if he couldn't reach the fireplace and apparated? He'd hide first of all. But where? What place in the house was unreachable to those on the ground? The roof would be his first guess. Whoever was in here had gone up.

"Where are you heading?" Asked Travers, as he began climbing the stairs in a mad dash.

"To the top," cackled Dolohov, amused at the double meaning behind those words.

He reached the top floor room. It was empty. The tiny room held a few broken toys, a few camp beds, but otherwise nothing. He felt furious. How could he have missed it? If some new kid got them before he did…he shuddered at the thought. Bellatrix would rip him to shreds with her verbatim, and Lucius would never let it drop. Rosier would forever treat him like filth. And none of that would make up for the torture the Dark Lord would put him through for failing.

"Found anything yet?" asked a sarcastic voice from behind him.

"Shut up Travers," said Dolohov coldly in return. His eyes scanned the room looking for any sign of life, when his eye caught something. A trap door.

"Well, looks like you're not at the top yet," guffawed Travers from behind him.

"I was waiting for you to witness my success," he said with a smirk.

Travers stiffened, and narrowed his eyes in return. He blasted the door with his wand, and heard a terrified squeal as a woman fell from the ceiling to the ground. He heard a sickening crack, and presumed she had broken her leg and possible other injuries. She had red hair and big brown eyes. Her wand was in her hand, as her other arm held the prize. A baby boy was wrapped in a maroon blanket and pressed close to her body. She lay on the ground, injured, blood pouring from various parts of her body. He could see that she was pregnant, explaining why she had avoided apparition.

"Told you," said Dolohov, sending a stunner at her. To his surprise, she had a shield up already.

"Up here boys!" yelled Travers.

"Please, he's just a baby," whispered the woman pleadingly to him. Dolohov dropped his hood, so she'd have his face forever plastered in her mind as he smirked. He heard the thundering footsteps behind him as the younger kids came up to witness this historic moment.

"_Diffindo!" _he cast at the child, and as he predicted, she shifted her body to protect the kid instead of casting a Shield Charm. Her emotions were erratic.

"_Immobolus"_ he said, and she froze. The cutting jinx was had narrowly missed her. He smirked as he saw her, frozen at that moment.

"Poor little blood-traitor bitch. Losing a baby," said Dolohov, stepping towards her.

She stared at him in shock and fear as he removed her wand from her hand and crushed it under his foot.

"Take the kid already, and then we can kill her!" cried Travers angrily.

"Patience Traver, a moment like this has to be treasured," he said, as he touched the crying baby, who had begun to squirm. He saw her anger and could see her fighting his Freezing Charm, so he cast another at her.

"Little Ronald I presume, so sweet and innocent," said Dolohov, as the baby stared at him in fear and burrowed closer to his mother. "He's getting the best option, he's joining the right path. Say bye-bye to mummy Ronald."

"NO!" cried the child. He cast a silencio over the baby, as the boys sent more jinxes at the woman to trap her. Her feet he noticed, had turned to stone and was glued to the floor.

"Enough!" he ordered. "Come here Ronald."

And he cruelly snatched the baby from her arms. The baby fought and kicked and clung to his mother. Dolohov watched her eyes melt and tear up as she struggled to grab the child, keep him close.

"Bye-bye mummy,"cackled Dolohov, before fleeing with the rest of the Death Eaters.


	4. Aftermath

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A FANFIC! I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS **

**The last chapter may have raised a few concerns as to why Molly did not go, 'not my son you bastard,' on Dolohov, but one must remember, she is pregnant a), and b) she fell down an entire floor thus injuring her lower body greviously.**

**Tell me what you think! I hope I did justice to the grieving, though it feels a bit rushed. I won't be narrating all the kidnappings in this much detail (two chapters) but I wanted to illustrate the point in the first kidnapping.**

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><p><strong>AFTERMATH<strong>

"Molly, it's time to wake up," said a voice. Molly Weasley stirred slowly in her sleep. She felt groggy and weak. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw a face appear in front of her eyes. Immediately she recognized her husband, a weary smile appeared on his face. Tear tracks seemed to line his cheeks.

"Where am I?" she asked groggily.

"Muriel's. A friend of Fabian's, a Healer, got her to patch you up," said Arthur gently to her. She looked over and saw him holding her hand tenderly.

"That's-

Suddenly a flood of memories rushed back into her mind. She saw Ron as he was screaming and crying, pleading to be with her. She felt pain tingle through her legs, and a crisp stab run through her heart. Suddenly she began gasping for air, and crying hardly, her body vibrating with emotion.

"I'm here Molly, I know," said Arthur, holding her in his arms, as he climbed into the bed beside her.

"They took him, straight from my arms Arthur, tell me it wasn't real, it was a dream, please," she sobbed into him.

"I can't," he whispered. Those words made her break down even harder into his chest.

"He was crying Arthur, they just snatched him, I was so scared, I couldn't save him," said Molly sobbing.

"It's not your fault Molly, you did what you could, you were terribly injured," said Arthur to her.

"They took my Ron," she cried into his chest, "What about the rest of the kids?"

"They're fine, shaken up, but fine. I haven't told them about Ron yet," said Arthur quietly.

"And the baby?" she asked, grabbing her stomach.

"Fine, thankfully. They said you're on bed rest until the baby's developed enough, and then they'll force an early delivery sometime in the last week of July instead of mid-August because your body won't take another child birth. You'll have permanent scarring on your left thigh. Most of the hexes are still permanent, and you'll need to relearn how to walk properly after bed rest is over. They didn't need to amputate but you'll be taking skele-gro to regrow some bones that they took out due to the vast amount of breaks. If Fabian and Gideon hadn't reached you when they did, you could have lost the baby and possibly died. The Healer said that you'll need to be taking a wide array of potions to help support the baby and yourself from, however, they believe your magic began nurturing the baby while you were injured which was why you were losing blood so rapidly. They think you focused all your magic subconsciously into protecting the child instead of helping your body heals," said Arthur quietly.

"Oh thank god, but what about Ron? They'll get him back right?" asked Molly desperately to Arthur, "Tell me everything that passed after they took him!"

"Alright," said Arthur gently.

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><p>Arthur had fled from a meeting with Barty Crouch when he saw his wife's tiger patronus land in the office. The words that had been uttered had shaken him to the very core of his personality.<p>

"They're here Arthur!" whispered his wife's voice in fear. Barty Crouch had sharpened and asked him numerous times what that meant, and whether it had to do with the Order and Death Eaters.

However, Arthur had ran from the room, bolting past ministry officials, only to run into a jovial Amos Diggory and Marietta Edgecombe. They stopped him to ask something about muggles to settle their debate, only to be furiously pushed aside. He remembered clearly telling them he had to go, but Amos was being pig-headed. In the end, he had actually sent a hex at Amos, blasting the man out of his way when Amos began pestering him about what was wrong. He had reached the apparition point and apparated frantically home. He saw it then, the Dark Mark.

Without thinking, he had run into the house. Fabian and Gideon had already arrived, having cancelled the mission anyways. The kitchen was in pieces, charred by a large flame. The living room and bedrooms had been turned upside down, and various things were charred. The acrid smell of burnt wood mixed with dead gnome bodies lingered in the air. The Death Eaters had tortured and burnt the bodies of stray gnomes, chickens, and other animals in the air.

"Arthur," said Fabian in a sympathetic sort of voice.

"The kids, Molly, where are they?" asked Arthur hoarsely, "WHERE ARE THEY?"

"They're fine, we found Molly already, and we got here a few minutes ago. We caught two Death Eaters as they were escaping. They had decided to stick around and destroy some stuff. They're in Dumbledore's custody as we speak. Molly's with a friend of mine, being healed up," said Fabian, but he wasn't meeting Arthur's eyes. Something was wrong.

"What happened? Why aren't you meeting my eyes?" asked Arthur in a soft, icy voice.

"We can't find Ron, Arthur," said Gideon gently.

"What do you MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND MY SON?" roared Arthur furiously, a panic settling into his stomach.

"They took him Arthur," said Fabian softly.

"No, that's a lie, he's just here, he probably crawled under a bed or something, he's forever getting stuck there," said Arthur wildly, pleading hopefully at his brother-in-laws.

"Arthur, I'm sorry," said Gideon, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We can get him back right? Those two Death Eaters, they know, right?" asked Arthur, switching his head wildly between the two men, who looked uncomfortable.

"They were only minors, Arthur, both in age and in the ranks of Death Eaters, I don't think they know anything," said Gideon.

"But we won't rest until we get him back Arthur, I swear to you, if it's the last thing we do, we will get our nephew back," said Fabian fiercely.

At those words, Arthur just stumbled onto the ground, and buried his head into his knees, lost to any other form of comfort.

* * *

><p>"I failed him Arthur, I should have protected him better," said Molly in tears.<p>

"It's my fault, I should have fought for better protection, or sent some of the children to stay elsewhere. I should have evacuated, but I stubbornly insisted that we were safe," said Arthur bitterly.

"Arthur! Don't say that! You oversaw all the wards being made! And you cut back your hours! You did everything in your power! It was my fault! I should have fought instead of hid, or apparated, or something," said Molly, in tears.

"My power wasn't good enough, and you did what any other mother would have done, can you honestly say any other father would have done the same? They'd have done more," said Arthur angrily.

"Arthur you-

"Molly awake yet?" asked a loud voice. The couple turned from their silent comfort in each other to see Molly's younger brothers enter the room.

"Help him, save my Ron, please," she felt herself pleading to her brother's, a new set of tears falling from her eyes.

"Molly, we swear we will," said Fabian, taking her hand on the other side of the bed.

"Please, save my baby," said Molly, clutching her brother's hands.

"We promise you," said Gideon softly.

"Thank you, thank you," she sobbed, as Fabian kissed her forehead.

"Do you want the babies?" asked Fabian gently, brushing back his sister's hair.

"I can't tell them, they'll know I failed," said Molly pleadingly.

"Alright love, we'll tell them, you rest. And you didn't fail Molly, you did your best," said Arthur kindly.

"I'll stay with her if you want to tell them Arthur," said Gideon kindly.

"Thank you, I'll be right back Molly," said Arthur, getting off of the bed and leaving with Fabian.

"Hey Fabian," said Arthur softly, once they entered the hallway.

"Yes Arthur?" asked Fabian to his brother-in-law.

"This Order, they work more miracles right, save more groups, get more information?" asked Arthur in the hallway to Fabian.

"Yes," said Fabian slowly, eying Arthur curiously.

"I want to join, I- I need to join," said Arthur firmly to Fabian.

"Alright, I'll talk to Dumbledore," said Fabian with a nod.

"Thanks, let's go tell the kids," said Arthur, looking far older than he was.

* * *

><p>Bill Weasley was worried. His uncles had stopped by about twelve hours ago and told him everything would be alright, but after that he hadn't heard anything. The twins and Percy had fallen asleep, occasionally waking up and wailing for their mother. Charlie would occasionally, nap, but wake up with nightmares. Bill had the same problem. Every time he fell asleep, he saw that twisted, laughing face, cackling madly as fire burned behind him, and the dark mark rising in the sky, as rain spattered around him. Unlike in reality, he'd watch the man lean towards him, but this time he was carrying all his siblings. He'd feel the man's arm just about to touch him before waking up in a cold sweat.<p>

"Bill, where's mummy?" asked Percy sleepily to him, having awoken from his own nightmare.

"I don't know Perce, I don't know," said Bill softly, "She's fine though, I know she is."

"Where's dad?" asked Percy up to Bill.

"With mummy," said Bill gently, as his little brother stumbled over to him and collapsed beside him.

The door swung open, and Bill stared as his dad walked in, looking weary and tired and sad. Behind him came Uncle Fabian, looking much the same. Both were streaked in soot. He saw ash and dust and mud covering his dad's clothes, and on Uncle Fabian's, a little bit of blood. Suddenly all the bravery Bill had displayed for the little ones died, and he ran at his father, faster than Percy even, and collapsed into his arms, savoring the warmth of the situation.

"Dad!" he wailed into his father's arms.

"Daddy!" cried Percy, having reached their father, and grabbing a leg of his father's.

"Dad?" asked a groggy Charlie from the other side of the room, having woken up. His eyes widened, and he too barrel-vaulted into their father.

"Dada!" cried Fred, toddling over with George, having been rudely awakened by Charlie.

"It's alright kids, I'm here, it's alright," his dad murmured, lowering himself onto his knees and wrapping his arms around all of them, patting someone on the head, ruffling the hair of another. Bill watched as the twins came and started climbing like little monkey's onto his dad's back and shoulders, Fred getting higher up than George, who delighted in hugging his dad's neck and tugging on some of his hair. Charlie was pinned to his dad's left and Percy to his dad's right.

"What happened? Where's mum?" asked Charlie nervously.

"Sit down kids, we need to talk," said his dad quietly and tiredly, sounding sad.

The kids beside Fred and George arranged themselves in front of their father. The twins ended up being held by his dad, and Bill enviously wished he was one of them, as he desperately needed the warmth.

"What happened?" asked Percy nervously, fiddling with his glasses.

"You're mum was attacked by the Death Eaters, she was hurt badly," said his dad quietly.

"But she's alive right?" asked Bill wildly, a fear developing in his body.

"She's alive, just very hurt. To protect the new baby, she has to stay in bed for a long time, and can't move around much," said his dad quietly.

"Mama huwt?" squawked George loudly.

"Yes Georgie, but she'll be alright, your mum's a tough lady," said Fabian, scooping the twin from his dad's arm, and thus allowing Percy to sidle into their father.

"But, they took Ron," said his dad quietly.

"Took Ron? Who took Ron?" asked Charlie confused.

"The Death Eaters have your brother," said his father in a strained voice.

Bill felt his jaw drop open. His baby brother was gone. Little Ron, the baby was gone. He remembered just yesterday finding Ron had crawled under his bed sheets and was hiding there, and then when he'd flipped it over, how Ron had laughed. He'd laughed too. He felt his tears fall out, and suddenly felt the warmth of Uncle Fabian holding him.

"Why?" asked Percy, "They'll give him back right?"

"They took him to make us hurt Percy," said his dad angrily and sadly, "And I don't think they will."

"But we can find him and fight them off right?" asked Charlie adamantly, his own tears falling.

"They're good at hiding," said Fabian, when his dad's face closed off, "But we'll damn well make sure that we do."

"No Won?" asked Fred, not understanding the concept of Death Eaters and kidnap.

"No Ron, bad men took him away," said his dad, sounding oddly choked.

"I want Won!" cried George loudly, now sobbing.

"Me twoo!" cried Fred, joining his brother in tears.

"Me three," said his dad wearily, "Me three."

* * *

><p>"Molly, we have some visitors here to see you," said Fabian as he opened the door.<p>

Molly watched as her dirty and tired boys walked in, all crying. They saw her, and immediately the younger ones broke into louder sobs. She felt her own body shake with new tears at the sight. How could she have failed her children?

"Mama!" cried Fred, leaning towards his mother. Fabian placed the twins beside her, and they began burrowing into her. Percy climbed over on the other side and buried his face into her shoulder. She could feel Charlie weave his way over and place grab the hand that Gideon was holding as Arthur expanded the bed so he could lie down in between Percy and her. Bill had grabbed the other hand, and was sitting on the now king sized bed with a twin somewhat atop of him, as he sobbed too.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, squeezing their hands, "I really am."

"It's not your fault, it's the Death Eaters faults!" said Percy indignantly as he pushed his glasses up his face.

Bill watched his dad crawl into the bed as his uncles left to give them some space. He curled into his father with Fred. They fell asleep like that in one large bed, sobbing and supporting each other in a silent echo of grief for a brother lost.

* * *

><p>Albus Dumbledore opened the Daily Prophet the morning after the Weasley's attack had become public to see a large article detailing what had taken place. Pictures of the crime scene were filtered all over the page. "Waylay of the Weasley Child," read across the top of the newspaper. Albus felt disgust just looking at the page. How could he have let such a thing happen with foreknowledge? How could this have passed right under his nose? He could never make it up to the family.<p>

He caught a glimpse of the family picture taken at Christmastime that had been foraged for the article. The little baby was waving at the camera from his mother's arms. He was just a baby. An innocent, pure child that deserved to remain untainted by the war. Already he had Severus digging through the ranks of the Death Eaters for any kind of idea of where the child might be.

He got up and after finishing his coffee, he flooed to the ministry.

"Morning Albus, the prisoners are right this way," said Alastor grimly.

He walked in silence with Alastor to where the two captured Death Eaters were. Both boys were only sixteen and seventeen. They had no idea of the pain that they had inflicted upon and innocent family. He felt disgust that they had gone to Hogwarts before dropping out, and shame that he hadn't been able to change things for them.

"Well, let's get started," said Albus grimly.

The two walked into the first prisoner holding cell to begin their interview.

"Professor Dumbledore," sneered the boy.

"Hello Mr. Avery, youngest son of the Avery family. It's a shame that you had to be placed in this position," said Dumbledore sadly to the boy.

"Oh please, it is an honor to serve the Dark Lord," said the boy sycophantically. Dumbledore could already conclude that the boy would not give up anything, and the Avery family had a lawyer ready on stand-by. Veritaserum would not be administered until the trial, in which case, things would be too late.

"I understand," said Dumbledore, sweeping out of the room with a flourish.

"Not going to bother then?" asked Alastor gruffly from behind him.

"Without Veritaserum he won't crack, and he's been trained in Occlumency," said Dumbledore dismissively.

"The other one's nervous, never thought he'd end up facing prison time," said Alastor conversationally.

They entered to see a pale-faced sixteen year old boy with sandy brown hair and brown eyes, with a light smattering of freckles.

"P-P-Pro-Professor Dumbledore," stammered the boy nervously.

"Hello Mr. Flanagan," said Dumbledore grimly, "I see that a lot has changed since you left after your OWLs."

"I didn't think I'd end up in prison, it was supposed to be glorious, eternal, powerful. I'd get all my revenge, I didn't think I'd see blood and pain," said the boy wildly.

"I'm afraid our choices defines us, Mr. Flanagan, and your choices have defined you. If you wish to make this correct, than I offer you a chance, Mr. Flanagan, if you know any information at all about the whereabouts of the kidnapped child, please state them now," said Dumbledore.

"I don't know, only Dolohov and Travers knew, the rest of us were allowed out. Avery convinced me to stick around and blow stuff up," said the boy.

He probed the mind of the boy a little, and could sense that the boy was lying. There were no shields indicating any sort of lie.

"Thank you Mr. Flanagan. I should warn you however, you are facing ten years in Azkaban for your crime. It's not life because you are a minor and your crimes include vandalism, theft and assistance with abduction. Your friend, Mr. Avery, has lawyers at the drop of a hat ready to fight for him, whereas you have simply the luck that you are getting a trial to force Veritaserum down your throat after you provide answers. I suggest you use this time to repent, because Azkaban won't make you repent, it will kill you slowly," said Dumbledore sadly, and he left the room, leaving a boy to face his death.


	5. The Skeletisation of the Bones

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything! This is JKR's characters, just my version of a new plot. **

**The last chapter was kind of intense and long. This summed up the entire next kidnapping.**

* * *

><p><strong>The Skeletisation of the Bones <strong>

Edgar Bones considered himself a cheery fellow. He had been sorted into Hufflepuff in his first year, and had been quite popular as a kid. Now he worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a clerk during trials, and was working his way up the ministry. His wife Catherine was pregnant with their second child, and his daughter Susan was going to be a year old in the next few hours. However, his bright life was marred by the looming threat that was the war.

Just two months ago the Weasley family had lost their youngest son to the Death Eaters, and were still coping with the grief. He had heard last from his friends Gideon and Fabian that Molly was being forced to take Dreamless Sleep potion and that they were staying with an aunt of theirs. They had all been placed under the Fidelius Charm, with one of the Prewett's as secret keeper.

Another thing that had turned up was that the brooms required for the getaway of the Prewetts from their last mission had been tampered with. This would have forced them to die as they fought the Death Eaters. But that meant that whoever tampered with them was a spy. Severus Snape had been cleared since he hadn't been near the brooms. The current suspects were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sturgis Podmore. That had made Edgar nervous, and he hadn't allowed any of them access to his own house that was under the Fidelius with Dedalus Diggle as secret-keeper.

"Edgar!" cried a voice. He turned to see a dazed looking Bertha Jorkins approach.

"What's up Bertha?" he asked jovially.

"That report I needed for Friday, when can I get it?" asked Bertha eagerly.

"For the broom tampering during the McLaughlan murders?" asked Edgar pleasantly.

"That's the one," said Bertha.

"I suppose by Friday, I left it at home today, and tomorrow's Susan's birthday so," said Edgar apologetically.

"What's your address? I can just pop by after work," said Bertha easily.

"Ah, it's under the Fidelius, I'd need to get Dedalus to write you the address," said Edgar in surprise.

"Don't you just keep a slip handy?" asked Bertha in surprise.

"Well, I suppose, hang on," said Edgar, fishing through a drawer. "Here we go, just pop by after work."

"No problem, thanks Edgar!" said Bertha, and she left as quickly as she came. Edgar shook his head at his friend's odd, bubbly personality.

"Time to head home," said Edgar, leaving the ministry with a bounce in his step.

* * *

><p>Once home, Edgar kissed his wife Catherine on the cheek, and then headed upstairs to where his daughter Susan was sleeping. He smiled happily at his daughter before heading downstairs to join his wife for dinner. They talked about their days, neither taking notice of the sudden flickering of their ward gem. They felt safe in their home.<p>

That night Edgar went to bed, caressing his pregnant wife with tender love and care, unaware of the incoming invasion.

* * *

><p>BAM!<p>

"What was that!" cried Catherine, wildly stumbling for her wand as Edgar hopped out of bed, wand ready.

"Come out come out where ever you are!" cackled a familiar, dangerous voice.

"Death Eaters, get Susan and get out of here," said Edgar, his face paling.

"Edgar," whispered Catherine to him. Another bang was heard downstairs, and the stairs began to creak.

"GO!" he yelled, exiting towards the stairs. He saw five hooded Death Eaters climbing up the stairs, and felt unease bubble in his stomach alongside fear and apprehension.

"Guess who gave us that slip you loaned her," cackled a female Death Eater.

"Alecto dearest, your giving away our Imperius," said a male Death Eater.

"_Reducto!"_ hissed Edgar at the foot of the stairs, and he watched as they fell in a heap to the ground.

"Oh, you'll pay for that one," said a malevolent Death Eater.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _shouted two Death Eaters, and to his horror, he saw the green lights headed his way. And then all dissolved into darkness.

* * *

><p>Susan woke up from her sleep to a bang. She felt lost and scared, and began to wail for her mother. She had lifted herself up so that she could see over her crib, and was clinging to the rails as she wailed loudly for her mama and papa.<p>

"Shh, Suzie, mama's here," said a comforting voice. Susan looked up to see her own red-headed mother smiling at her, though it seemed sad.

"Mama, mama!" cried Susan, raising her arms. Susan was lifted into her mother's arms, and she pressed against her chest as another loud crash resounded around the house, shaking it.

"Edgar," whispered her mother, looking for a way out. She made her way to the window, Susan in her arms still. Outside the house was silent. Her mother blasted the window aside and the two crawled onto the roof.

"Mama!" wailed Susan desperately into the soft arms of her mother.

"Hush Suzie, everything will be alright," whispered her mother comfortingly. From the roof, she cast a large cushioning charm and the two jumped onto the ground, ready to flee. Without looking back, her mother ran into the yard, blasting the fence aside as she went, and out into the trail. She'd hide there until morning and then they'd go for help to one of Edgar's friends. Maybe she'd even be able to apparate once she'd calmed down enough.

"They're getting away!" yelled a voice from behind them. NO! They'd been seen. How? The Death Eaters should have been climbing the stairs, not been on the bottom floor. Catherine tripped over a root of a large tree and fell onto the grass; Susan landed first atop of her mother, and then tumbled out of her arms and rolled down the hillside towards the ravine behind their house.

"SUSAN!" screamed her mother.

"Mama!" cried Susan, as she landed in an abandoned bird's nest, slightly bruised but otherwise alright. She was wailing loudly now because of her injuries. From her sight though, she could see lights flashing. Bright reds and blues were targeting the same spot, until a green light hit something, and all went silent.

"Mama!" wailed Susan loudly. She waddled up and began trying to climb up towards her mother. Grass and dirt smattered across her clothes and in her hair. Her hands were bleeding and she hurt all over.

"There's the brat, levitate her!" yelled a gruff voice.

Susan felt herself be lifted off of the cold, wet ground and into the night sky. When she stopped, she was face to face with her mother's killer. Amycus Carrow wet his lips in delight at having caught the brat.

"Let's get going," said the Death Eater.

* * *

><p>Susan's wails had subsided and now she was sniffling. She felt cold, and dirty and tired. Her diaper was full and she wanted to go home to her mama. The new place she was in was cold and dark. The portraits glared down malevolently at her. Green and black silk tapestries fell from the ceiling down to the ground. A thin layer of dust and cobwebs covered the walls. The light seemed only to be used to further enhance the creepiness of the place

"I still can't believe Lucius gave up his beach house to hide the kids in," said the Death Eater that was holding Susan ever so uncomfortably.

"Or volunteered his own elf," said another with a wheezy cackle.

"Well, they are rich, and since he isn't collecting," said the lady named Alecto.

"Too bad we killed off the last Bones male," said another.

"Well, Crouch gave his elf up as well, remember? Bet old Barty Crouch Senior hasn't even noticed, the jerk he is," said the man named Amycus.

"Enough, let's just drop the brat off to the nursery," said Alecto.

"Alright, alright," said the Amycus fellow.

They walked in silence into a small room. Two unsightly creatures approached, and bowed lowly at the Death Eaters.

"We have another brat for the nursery, it's a girl named Susan," sneered Alecto at the creatures.

"We is taking her for you's then," said the first creature, wearing a blue tea-cosy that was filthy and stained. It's tennis-ball sized eyes peered down at Susan, who felt a warmth and safe atmosphere coming from the elf.

"Mama?" asked Susan hopefully.

"I is Winky, you is safe here," said Winky gently to the baby. "I is taking the baby to be cleaned, alright?"

"Whatever, we're done here," said Amycus, and he and the rest of the gang left.

She took the baby girl aside and began cleaning her up. The baby stared at her in awe and fear. She sniffled for a while. Finally the girl calmed down, and fell asleep in the safe warmth that Winky provided.

"She is sleeping then?" asked another elf, appearing behind Winky.

"Dobby! You is frightening me," said Winky in shock.

"The boy sleeps too now," said Dobby, pointing to a crib on the other side of the room, where a red-headed boy lay fast asleep in his crib. Winky strolled over and put Susan in beside him.

"Both have red hair," said Winky.

"What is they doing with them?" asked Dobby curiously to Winky.

"I is not knowing. Young master has given me clothes and is employing me to serve new babies, I is angry, but I is having no choice," said Winky angrily.

"Same is happening for me," said Dobby sniffily, "But is good; baby can't flog us no more."

"You is bad elf Dobby! We is to be reverent to our's masters! If young master hadn't said he would come for me again, I is being upset," said Winky angrily.

"I is happy in new job, as long as babies stay safe, is all that matters," said Dobby, as they both peered into the crib where the two tiny tots rested.

* * *

><p>"Amelia, can I see you for a moment?" asked Alastor Moody. Amelia started in surprise.<p>

She was just a nobody right now. She was a small-time clerk in the judicial system, working her way to the top. Someday she'd be a lawyer, defending the innocent and sending the guilty to Azkaban, but for now, she was just working her way to the top.

"Yessir?" asked Amelia as she slid into his office. She was surprised to see junior Auror Rufus Scrimgeour and trainee Auror Shacklebolt in his office.

"Amelia, take a seat," said Alastor heavily. She slid into the chair, eying the two stony faced Aurors in the background. Something was very wrong.

"What's going on?" asked Amelia, brushing back her brown hair over her big, round glasses. She looked like a tiny little girl, dressed in her plain black robes with a white undershirt.

"It's Edgar, Amelia," said Rufus, when Moody paused.

"No," said Amelia, clapping a hand over her mouth in shock, "No, it's not true."

"We found them with the Dark Mark over their house. Edgar was killed first and they got Catherine too," said Moody softly.

"No, she was pregnant!" cried Amelia, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey now, here," said Shacklebolt in his deep, soothing voice, as he handed her a handkerchief, "There's still hope."

"Kingsley!" hissed Rufus angrily.

"What do you mean? There's a chance they're all alive?" asked Amelia hysterically.

"No, they were confirmed dead," said Moody, sounding annoyed as he glared at his underlings, "But we didn't find Susan, there's a good chance they took her and she's still alive."

"You mean like with the Weasley boy?" asked Amelia in shock.

"Exactly like the Weasley boy," said Kingsley grimly.

"Why weren't you going to tell me?" accused Amelia.

"Because we haven't finished searching the area, but we are sure that they took her," said Moody gently.

"Can you find her?" asked Amelia softly.

"We'll do our best ma'am," said Kingsley kindly.

"Well, just remember this much, if you dare give up on finding her, I'll show you just what the family Bones is capable off," said Amelia dangerously, and she stormed out to break down in the privacy of her own office.


	6. The Loss for the Lovegoods

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE PROPERTY OF JKR. MY IDEA IN HER STORY. **

** Sorry the update took so long! My laptop charger broke and I was caught up in essays and schoolwork that had to go first. I'll be updating more regularly now, especially since the next chapter answers the question everyone seems to be asking, Harry or Neville? **

** As well, please take the time to review my story. I'm glad I have so much positive feedback coming in for it! Enjoy the chapter! **

**The Loss for the Lovegoods**

"Selene!" cried out a voice. Selene put her new baby Luna down and came downstairs. Her husband, Xenophilius was smiling widely up at her, with a pure joy.

"What's the matter Xeno?" asked Selene, as she came downstairs. Her husband's grey eyes sparkled with delight.

"I got it! The licence for our new magazine! It's finally happening Selene, we can start the Quibbler! We can inform people! Give the oppressed a voice! People will finally be aware of the dangers and menaces as well as miracles in our society!" said Xeno, a sparkle in his eye.

"I'm so proud of you Xeno!" she said, flinging her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his. He lifted her off of her feet and kissed her back furiously.

"Where's Luna? I want to share the news with her," said Xeno brightly.

"She was falling asleep upstairs, I was reading her your articles about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack," said Selene with a smile.

With a flash, he was gone. Up the stairs he flew, to be with his baby girl. Selene went to check the mail, smiling to herself at the beauty of life.

* * *

><p>"Hey there, Luna," said Xeno quietly, as he walked into the nursery.<p>

Painted in a bright yellow, the room resounded with happiness and dottiness. Her crib had the oddest carousel above it, with dirigible plums, corks, radishes and old owl feathers hanging from it. It was very obviously homemade. The crib itself was white, as was the changing table and crib beside it. Orange and green linens were in the crib.

Xeno peered into the crib. A baby with dirty blond hair lay sleeping. He sighed. He loved staring into his daughter's identical grey eyes. They peered directly into his soul. Everything about her belonged to Selene; the pert little nose, the pale, milky skin. He wondered if when she grew up he'd see more of himself in her.

"Hey there Luna," said Xeno softly, sitting down on the white stool beside the crib. "Guess what Daddy did today, he got a licence. He's going to start a magazine, and publish the truth. The things the ministry doesn't like to tell the people. He's going to reveal the secret to wrackspurts, and the crumple-horned snorkack, and about the secrets of the ministry's, and-

"She's sleeping Xeno," said a voice. He turned to see his beautiful wife smiling at him.

Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back with a blue head band. She was still round from the pregnancy weight. Her green eyes sparkled back at him. She was wearing a white cotton shirt, and blue over robes.

"Talking to a child while they sleep is beneficial for securing a bond," argued Xeno with a smile.

"I know, I read that article you prepared too," she said, sauntering over and wrapping her arms around him.

"I wish your sister was here, to see Luna," said Xeno softly to Selene. She stiffened, and then relaxed.

"I do too, Marlene loved babies," said Selene.

They enjoyed a quiet silence, before Selene spoke.

"Tomorrow's your cousin's wedding, are we going?" she asked him.

"Of course, the more people to bless a marriage, the healthier it is," he said.

"Who do we leave Luna with? She's only four months old," said Selene nervously.

"We discussed this Selene. Your cousin will look after her, and we'll be back before midnight," said Xeno warmly to his wife.

"But what if she misses us?" asked Selene nervously.

"That is a problem," said Xeno.

"What's the proposed solution?" asked Selene, her big eyes staring at him with that determined, curious look that drove him wild.

"Well, how about this?" asked Xeno, pulling out a necklace he had made. Unlike his usual odd creations, it was sparkly and beautiful. On a thin, silver chain, a small oval shaped locket dangled. A bright white crescent moon was on the front.

"It's beautiful, when did you get it?" asked Selene, her eyes sparkling at him.

"When I heard about all the kidnappings, I thought how uncertain the future is, and that if anything happened to us and Luna was alone, she'd need something to remember us by," said Xeno softly.

"How does it open?" asked Selene curiously.

"The lullaby you sing, I attuned it to that," he said.

"It's beautiful," said Selene, and then she began to sing. They watched with joy as the locket opened to reveal two images.

The first image was of Selene and Xeno on their wedding day. Selene had chosen to wear a silvery white dress. A lace white dress fell over the silver, and emphasized the purity of the moment. It was form fitting on top and fell straight down her body, emphasizing her height. The veil was silver, and fit into her hair with star shaped pins. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled up into a bun and a few tender wisps fell down framing her face. Xeno was wearing bright yellow robes. His white hair had been pulled back into a neat pony tail for the day. On the other end was a picture of the two holding their daughter the day she was born. Beneath the picture was the words Lovegoods.

"It's amazing, oh Xeno!" she said, pressing her lips to his.

* * *

><p>The next night was all a blur. Before Selene knew it, they had gone to the wedding and were dancing the night away. It was late when they apparated back to their home. Selene couldn't remember a night when she had relaxed more. It was just so enjoyable to relax. Luna was a gentle child, always cooing and hardly crying, but it had been so long since the two had just had time to themselves.<p>

"Let's get home, I want to be with Luna," said Selene.

"I do too, I miss her, I don't know how I let you talk me into going tonight," said Xeno to his wife as they strolled in the direction of their house. They had only a few strong wards protecting the house, including anti-apparition. Neither believed that that they would be threatened since Marlene's death.

"I had a lovely time tonight, it's nice to celebrate love," said Selene with a smile to her husband.

"Of course it is, love is the most powerful force in the universe," said Xeno seriously.

"That it is," said Selene, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.

They walked in a comfortable silence. The turned the bend, and stopped in their tracks. Neither could believe what they saw. A large, green skull hung over their house. The rook shaped house had fallen apart. The garden was torn up, and an acrid stench of burning wood and gunpowder hung in the air. A body was hanging from the top of the rook, on a ledge that had been charmed to stay put. It was her cousin.

A few cautious neighbours seemed to be around the house, having just approached. Obviously they had missed the Death Eaters by minutes if the sign was up. She saw the Aurors apparating around the house, having received the message of an attack.

"No," said Selene, clapping a hand over her mouth. Xeno tore away from her and ran to the house, but she knew he wouldn't find what he was looking for. They had taken her. Luna was gone.

Her knees wobbled, and then gave out. She couldn't breathe as tears began streaming down her face. A ghastly scream escaped from her lips, tearing into the night. She was screaming incoherently, shrieking for something, anything. Her entire body was shaking with anger and pain. She felt someone touch her shoulders as she screamed towards the house, trying to pull her away from the sight, but she was frozen. She felt a corrosive hatred enter her mind, blaming Marlene for wanting to fight, blaming Xeno for convincing her to go, blaming Xeno's cousin for not protecting Luna, blaming herself for leaving her daughter.

"Selene, come away," said the firm, kind voice she recognized as Amos Diggory's.

"They took her, my baby!" she screamed, before letting out another scream of rage. Beside them, a tree caught on fire. Obviously her accidental magic was letting loose.

"Selene, you need to move," said another voice she recognized just barely as old Mr. Fawcett, the kind man who sold her grapes from his vineyard.

"Luna, my Luna," she cried, her voice hoarse from all the screaming.

They suddenly heard a loud rage-filled yell come from the house. She stopped screaming to see Xeno. He had somehow climbed to where Luna's nursery was, and was yelling at the Auror who was trying to get him to leave the crime scene. He was still looking for Luna, not wanting to believe the situation. She identified with that yell, it was her pain. Only Xeno understood how she felt, only he could understand her.

Blast resounded as Xeno obviously sent a hex at the Auror. He wasn't giving up. She felt hatred for him in that moment as well as love, and it hurt. How could she hate him? How could she love him? It was as much her fault as his for this happening. He shouldn't hex the Auror. He should give up. They had lost Luna. But he wasn't. And she loved him for it. She loved that he wouldn't give up. She loved that he'd still try. She loved him and hated him.

* * *

><p>Xeno Lovegood had been stunned and then detained after hexing the Auror. Now he sat in a small booth at the Ministry, facing Bartemius Crouch and Alastor Moody for questioning. Amos Diggory had offered to take Selene to his house after they had drugged his wife with several Calming Draughts and Dreamless Sleep Potions. That was twelve hours ago.<p>

It seemed like a miracle to him that just twelve hours ago, he and Selene were dancing at a wedding. Twenty-four hours ago, he had been holding his daughter and singing her a lullaby. She'd never know that lullaby Selene had made especially for her. She'd never know what a Crumple-Horned Snorkack was. No, that wouldn't happen. He'd bring Luna home.

"Xenophilius Lovegood," said a sharp, crisp voice.

He turned to see Barty Crouch looking up at him finally. He wondered briefly how he looked as he met this powerful man. His white hair must have become straggly and loose from his ponytail. His eyes were probably red-rimmed as he had cried unashamedly for his Luna. His perfect, little Luna. His robes were covered in dirt and grime from the remnants of the house.

"That's me," said Xeno hoarsely, his throat sore from yelling and crying in rage and frustration.

"You realize that cooperating with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the only thing stopping you from heading to Azkaban for attempted assault of an Auror?" asked Barty Crouch severly.

Xeno glared angrily at the man. How could he threaten him with Azkaban now? When his daughter was in the hands of Death Eaters? And cooperation? No wonder Barty Crouch was a hated man.

"Yes," he said contemptuously.

"Were you expecting an attack?" asked Barty Crouch.

"Yes, that's why I left my only daughter alone at home to be kidnapped," snapped Xeno angrily.

"You are balancing on a thin line, Mr. Lovegood," warned Barty Crouch, "Was your family affiliated to the Order of the Phoenix in anyway?"

"Selene's sister was a member," said Xeno stiffly.

"Barty this isn't doing any good. What's the point of interviewing him? Xeno needs to be with his wife, let him go. We have enough reports already, and we can excuse his behavior as irrational thinking," interrupted Alastor carefully.

"He needs to answer our questions Alastor," said Barty furiously.

"When we have answers for them, we can give them, until then, leave me to handle this case, I'll bring those children back, besides, I've been the guy on site for all the cases anyways," said Alastor quietly and calmly.

"Fine, but you're not using the Prewetts' this time, they have a personal connection," said Barty with a glare.

"I'll leave you to find me some competent fools then," said Alastor stiffly, "You can go home now Xeno."

"Thank you," said Xeno, and he stood up, and walked out, unsure of where exactly home was anymore.


	7. And The Last Piece Falls

**Disclaimer: This is a FANFICTION! It doesn't belong to me. **

**Thanks for all the positive reviews! I'm glad people like the idea. **

**Just to make it clear, I'm not going to have them as Dark wizards. They will have a bit more of a skewed sense of right and wrong, but they will not be dark wizards as such, maybe grey, a lot more independent.**

**This chapter's going to be really quick because it sets the intro for the next one. The next one's a long one because it basically is the start of the entire story. Sorry for the wait, I'm trying to settle into a new routine and things are flipping around so, yeah. **

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><p><strong>And The Last Piece Falls<strong>

Peter was pacing. Just two days ago he had been made secret-keeper to the Potters. Just two hours ago, he had sold them out. For just two minutes worth of praise. Now he waited for the moment when two of his best friends would be on the hunt for his blood. Funny, how everything bad in life seemed to come in pairs. From prefects nagging on his pranks, to ex-best friends out for your blood. Yes, Peter was very much screwed.

However, the problem was, he didn't know when he would find that moment. The Dark Lord had dismissed him and said that he would dispose of the Potters at his own time. It was October 31st, and Peter was celebrating his Halloween in mourning for his best friends. Friends, who in his youth, would have done anything for him. He had done everything for them. What had he done?

But it would be worth it in the end. The Dark Lord would triumph. He would finally attain glory. He would be king, leader, looked upon with awe. Nevermore would he stand in the shadows of his greater friends. Never again would he be considered weak and insufficient. No one would say he was dumb.

Yet, a strange sense of guilt festered in him. He needed confirmation, something, anything to let him know the deed had happened. The Dark mark burning would not be enough. And with that, he grabbed his cloak, and apparated away to the edge of Godric's Hollow, determined to see the end of the Marauder era, and the beginning of the era of Pettigrew.

* * *

><p>"James, there you are," said Lily, as her husband walked into the house.<p>

"Lily," he said with a warm smile, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"You look exhausted! What were you doing all night?" she asked with a frown.

"Background searches," he said tiredly.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"Nothing, we still can't find out who was imperiused to give the Death Eaters Edgar's address, Dedalus is fraught with grief, things still suck," said James bitterly.

"Nothing gets better easily," said Lily wisely, pulling her husband into the living room.

"Yeah, well, I wish there was some way to get those kids back to safety," said James, "It just makes me angry that there's nothing we can do to find them."

"I know hon, I know. How's Molly Weasley anyways? I heard she had a daughter now, that must be exciting," said Lily, trying to distract her husband as she led him into the living room.

"Yeah. They named her Ginerva Molly Weasley. She gave birth August first, a few days before expected, but they think it's because of her condition as such. Her placenta detached in the thirty-first week as you already know, and they think it was caused from the stress of losing Gideon just sent her over the edge. The Healers managed to magically repair it, but, well, it detached again on Harry's birthday. It was a pretty complicated process, but they both made it out alright. The Prewetts were a mess during the entire thing though," said James with a grimace.

"Oh those poor dears," said Lily, leaning into James. She'd already heard the story, however, James seemed to avoid telling her any good news to remain bitter.

"Yeah. It's worse since their living with Muriel still. The house is old and dusty. Not to mention the crazy old bat refuses to clean the house with kid-friendly spells. She sticks to using old potions and concoctions. The other Weasley kids mostly stay outside, playing you know, when they can. But with the baby surrounded by those fumes and agents, it's not good, and Molly's still depressed over the loss of her son and brother, and she's in no state to argue with Muriel over anything. Arthur and Fabian try their best, but well, it's hard to get through to Muriel. They move back to their own house in a few days though," said James.

Before he could continue, they heard wails of a baby.

"Looks like your son wanted to cheer you up," said Lily cheekily, heading upstairs to collect Harry.

James smiled after her and went into the living room to relax. A few minutes later, Lily came in carrying a calmed down Harry.

"Hey there Harry," said James, grinning up at his son.

The baby glared up at him with his Lily's pretty green eyes. He looked wide awake though, and burst into a smile. It amazed James how easily his son could do that. He just managed to make things alright with that smile of his.

"Want some bubbles Harry?" asked James, producing his wand.

* * *

><p>It was over. The Dark Lord had disappeared into the night. Peter was left with nothing. In an instant everything ended. All his moments of glory gone, and his only hope to survival ruined by the deaths of James and Lily. He'd seen the way the curses landed. It hit him hard. He'd killed his best friend and his wife, for nothing. It would be a matter of minutes, and then the Order, Sirius, Remus, they'd be on him. He wanted to run, to hide, but he couldn't. He was frozen.<p>

Suddenly a sound made him snap out of his reverie. It was the sound of a baby crying. Startled, he turned to run before anyone approached him, when a sudden idea struck. If he took the baby to the nursery, he could use Harry as a peace offering. He must have had some kind of awestruck power in him to make him invincible against the Dark Lord. If he took the baby, the Death Eaters could raise him as a new Dark Lord. He'd make it through. He'd survive.

Without a second thought he began to rummage through the rubble, using spells to lift rubble and move broken down pieces of wall. He began to dig and dig with a strange frenzy. Harry was his key to survival. He felt a clawing sense of guilt, and ignored the bodies of James and Lily as he sent a quick tarp over them. He needed to survive. He was doing the right thing, right?

Finally he found the baby. It stared up at him with big, watery green eyes. A strange, lightning bolt scar now adorned his forehead. He felt overwhelming guilt as the baby raised his pudgy hands to be lifted, to be comforted. He wanted to abandon the baby right there and run. However, his instinct to survive overwhelmed him.

"Wormy?" asked the baby in his childlike, innocent voice.

He was unaware. He had no idea the terrible deed he had just done. He should leave the child. Every inch of him was screaming that he'd regret it. However, he needed some collateral for protection. Hardly any of the Death Eaters who could offer him protection would want to kill something they could raise to be the ultimate weapon. So he lifted the baby, and disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p>"Where are they, Hagrid?" asked Sirius, paling as he arrived at the house.<p>

Hagrid looked frantic, tearing apart rubble and parts of the broken house, searching for something. Sirius didn't bear to ask what it was.

"Not here, he isn' here!" wailed Hagrid.

Sirius however, ignored him. He was stark white as he stared at the dead bodies of James and Lily Potter. Hagrid had laid them together. They looked like they were sleeping. So peaceful and calm, yet they'd never awake again. He wanted to scream, to sob, and oddly, a strange desire to laugh at the entire absurdity of the situation. James Potter was dead. Lily Potter was dead. Harry- Where was Harry?

"Where's Harry, Hagrid?" asked Sirius, turning away from the bodies as tears filled in his eyes.

"Not here! I searched ev'rywhere for 'im," said Hagrid frantically.

"Do you mean, they took him?" said Sirius, falling onto his knees.

"I don' know, I need ter tell Dumbledore," said Hagrid, his face sinking, as he struggled to hold back his tears.

"No, no, it's not happening, it's all my fault," said Sirius as he held onto his head, trying to stabilize himself.

"Let's get ter Dumbledore Sirius, you can tell him the story then," said Hagrid gently.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go," said Sirius, still dazed.

And so the two apparated away into the night.


	8. Decisions Are Made

**DISCLAIMER: NOT FOR MONEY, ALL BELONGS TO JKR**

**Another long chapter, it's been like that with all my stories. I hope you enjoy this one. It basically kicks off the chase part of the story! The next chapter will be the Death Eater trials, and the ministry getting into action.**

**I'm glad the story's well-liked by people! **

**Yadada, please leave me a review!**

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><p><strong>Decisions are Made<strong>

Peter felt the familiar sensation of apparition fade away from him as he landed in front of a large, imposing manner. By dawn, he knew it would be surrounded by Aurors. Baby Harry had quieted down in his arms, and instead peered up at the sky with an awestruck face. The night was still young, and much had to be done. Hopefully, he thought, Harry would be his key to salvation. He felt disgusting as he entered the mansion, the familiar burning going through his arm, though much fainter this time. Possibly because the Dark Lord was dead.

"Who goes there?" hissed a voice, an octave too high for a regular human.

"P-P-Peter P-Pettigrew," he stuttered, fumbling backwards.

"Pettigrew?" hissed a voice, and the body of Alecto Carrow appeared from the shadows.

"Servant of the Dark Lord, reporting with the Dark Lord's final command," squeaked Peter in fear.

"Lies!" hissed Alecto, brandishing her wand at pointing it at Peter dangerously.

"What is going on out here?" came another voice.

The two turned as Lucius Malfoy, dressed in his traditional black garb, appeared. He was carrying a small, blond-haired toddler, who looked rather tired. For a menacing man, the appearance of a baby in his arms made the man look ten times less intimidating. The young Malfoy heir rubbed his eye lazily at the proceedings. Just like his father already, he seemed to believe he was above everyone around him.

"A spy from the Order dares to break in!" said Alecto, hysterically. Obviously she was still slightly deranged since losing her mark.

"What do you want Pettigrew?" asked Lucius, drawing his own wand out.

"Please, I bring a peace offering! In exchange for protection," began Pettigrew, licking his dried lips with fear, "I bring the new most powerful wizard since the Dark Lord fell, the one and only, Potter!"

"How dare he!" shrieked Alecto, brandishing her wand like a maniac.

"Are you telling me, that the reason our Lord is dead, is because of that?" said Lucius, pointing to the baby who was now beginning to wail from fear.

"Y-Yes, sir," said Pettigrew, "But he can be trained! We can make him a new Dark Lord!"

"_Stupefy," _hissed Lucius, with no mercy, and he watched as Pettigrew keeled over.

The baby, luckily, was not crushed during the fall and instead landed on Pettigrew's chest, before rolling over and wailing louder than before. His wails set of Draco, and for whatever reason, Alecto. Lucius turned to the window, it was over. He had lost. And now, he had five babies to deal with, an irate Death Eater, and a coward. How was he going to get out of this mess?

* * *

><p>Remus couldn't believe it. Prongs and Lily were dead. Voldemort was gone. And best of all, Voldemort was dead because of baby Harry. Yet, even that news left a sour taste in his mouth. Sirius and James had suspected he was a Death Eater. Wormtail had sold out James and Lily that night. And the worst crime of all, he had kidnapped Harry and gone on the run.<p>

All around him, the Order was at the end of their wits. They had gathered in Dumbledore's office to discuss the news. Whilst the rest of the world celebrated and whispers of the truth leaked out, everyone was trying to discuss the location of Worm-No, Pettigrew, and Harry. Wormtail was dead. The marauder that he had once known was dead. The marauders would never have sold each other out. Therefore, Wormtail had somehow died within Pettigrew. All that was left in him was a cruel, bitter, cowardly man.

"They could be heading out of the country by now!" shouted an irate Emmaline Vance.

"He's too much of a coward for that Vance, listen to yourself!" yelled Podmore in return.

Remus felt sick, he needed to leave. He looked up to see Sirius departing from the door. Odd. He followed quietly. He needed to talk to Sirius.

"Sirius!" he called out.

His friend turned to see him. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Obviously the night was not doing well on his nerves. His once sleek hair looked lacklustre and worn. His pale skin was stretched and raggedy. All in all, Sirius looked like a zombie. He flinched as Remus neared, surprising Remus.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault Moony," croaked Sirius, bending down.

"What?" asked Remus.

"Hit me, beat me, twist my arm around my neck, anything at all, just get it over with!" yelled Sirius in a deranged manner.

"Why would I do that?" asked Remus in shock.

"Because I didn't trust you! I let that rat get to me! I changed the Secret-Keeper without your knowledge!" said Sirius impatiently.

"I didn't trust you either, I urged James to consider changing to Peter as well, I thought you were the Death Eater," said Remus hollowly.

"What?" asked Sirius in shock.

"I thought you were a Death Eater," said Remus with grief-filled eyes.

"So, then, it was both our faults?" asked Sirius in shock.

"We killed him Sirius," said Remus softly, his own eyes wet from grief.

"And now Harry's gone to god knows where," said Sirius angrily.

"We have to get him back," said Remus with conviction.

"If it's the last thing we do," said Sirius in agreement.

"For Prongs," the two said quietly in unison.

* * *

><p>"Alexander, I'm glad you're here," said Lucius with a nod to the man in front of him.<p>

"Havoc's already on the streets, people are celebrating everywhere," said Alexander Nott with a nod to Lucius.

"He's really gone," said Lucius softly.

"We're doomed Lucius! They'll take Theodore away from me, I'll be chucked into Azkaban! The Carrows are already hitting the streets, acting like they've been released from the Imperius curse, give me one damn good reason why I shouldn't join them," said Alexander furiously.

"Because, of that," said Lucius, pointing to a stunned and gagged Pettigrew in the corner.

"What have you done Lucius?" asked Alexander in shock.

"He's the one who betrayed the Potters, and worse, he brought the boy here, with us," said Lucius angrily.

"What does he expect from us? Protection?" asked an incredulous Alexander.

"We may not have a choice. The house elves already know, Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers left with Crouch after dropping off the Longbottom boy here, to find the Dark Lord, they believe he may be out there," said Lucius curtly.

"What about Severus? Can't he take the man to Dumbledore?" Asked Alexander.

"It's not that simple, I can't get a hold of Severus, and what Pettigrew brought as a peace offering is far too awful to put into writing," said Lucius with a hint of hysteria.

"What did he bring?" asked Alexander, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"He brought Harry Potter," said Lucius, confirming Alexander's worst doubts.

"You're kidding," said Alexander, paling.

"We have five children in here, and two House elves, bonded now with those children. All it would take is the discovery of the children in my beach house to set off a round of questioning. Every single Death Eater affiliated with me will be put under Veritaserum, asked if they knew. A yes from either of them, or us will slip all our covers," said Lucius.

"We can bribe our way out," argued Alexander.

"Fool! Think for a minute! Amelia Bones, last of the Bones line. The most prestigious pure-blooded blood traitors! With her wealth, she'll want revenge. Already she's been throwing her power around, left right and center. If she has her way, with a few sob stories and by plucking some strings, she'll have every me put under Veritaserum trials! Claiming her niece is traumatised, she can get revenge!"

"And Weasley! He and his wife have friends from all walks of life. One little sob story and they'll be the front page of the Prophet! What about Augusta Longbottom? Her husband and her are high classed members of society! They have allies in the highest places of society! By the time Bellatrix is caught, it will take all the strings I can possibly pull to have her escape the Dementor's Kiss! And why? Narcissa would never look at me again if I didn't try to help her sister!"

"And what about Black? You forget the prestige Sirius Black has in society! As the last heir to the Black household, even if Walburga disowned him, people will hear him out! He's Potter's godfather! That alone will make him a key voice against all Death Eaters! And even though they aren't upstanding members of society, the Lovegoods magazine has been pouring out stories the ministry keeps quiet! They've been demanding to have their daughter brought home! They have plenty of supporters thanks to their bravery, despite being a bunch of oddballs!" ranted Lucius loudly.

"So why won't they just try us with Veritaserum anyways?" asked Nott coldly.

"Because, as long as the kids aren't found, they're case stays open and with no evidence affiliating them to us, such as being found in this house, we can't take the fall!" said Lucius.

"But you just explained to me that all those people can have every Death Eater tried under Veritaserum, why won't they?" asked Nott.

"Listen to me Alexander, our safety depends on those kids not having any connection towards us, me especially. People will want to bury the last ten years, be forgiving and what not. Of course, the most horrible Death Eaters will be taken to prison, but the ones who claim to be sorry, who have sob stories, who were Imperiused or threatened, they'll get off light! Asides from this house, there is no connection to us. Those kids don't know who took them! Bones was taken by the Carrows, but can she say that? She doesn't even know that she's a Bones! Weasley was taken by Dolohov, and his mother was the only witness. Lovegood, well, I won't say that you led the party, and neither can she, so nobody knows your role, Alexander."

Alexander stiffened at those words, but Lucius ignored him as he continued, "And Bellatrix, well she'll confess to her sins, she'll wear them like a badge. But Potter, well, he's here too, and his kidnapper wants our protection. Like we're going to give him that."

"Lucius, how can they connect me to your house?" asked Alexander with a bit of a scoff.

"I have photographs of you hear, Alexander, for Narcissa's birthday, and Draco's, you're just at risk as I am," said Lucius.

"So then we just kick the house elves and kids out, simple," said Alexander.

"And they'll just go where? With no one in control, the elves will return to their master, Crouch Sr!" said Lucius irately.

"But you forget, we have a readymade scapegoat," said Alexander with a smirk.

"That we do," said Lucius as the idea dawned on him, and the two grinned evilly at Pettigrew.

* * *

><p>"It's done Winky," said Dobby, as he rushed into the nursery.<p>

Winky stood in a pretty red tea cosy, feeding baby Susan and baby Ron some oatmeal. The two toddlers were about eighteen months. Ron was the oldest, almost hitting eighteen months, just shy a few days. Susan was fifteen months, and the second oldest. Being the longest two in captivity, they had begun to forget their past. They seemed to understand that their parents were gone, and asides from the nightmares, were growing well. The two were babbling away to each other in their baby speech.

Baby Luna was just eight months. Four months having passed since she was taken, and she was dealing with her nightmares as terrors. The little baby had just begun to crawl, and was already showing signs of advancements. Susan seemed to dote on Luna, and treated her more like a toy than anything. Ron seemed at first jealous of Susan, and by the time Luna came, he was so used to having 'younger siblings', he didn't care. He was adventurous, and Dobby was forever chasing him and trying to keep the little boy safe.

Now, the two elves had two more babies to deal with. Neville Longbottom had appeared first. The Lestranges had brought him. The baby was a year and three months, and wailed loudly for his parents. Harry Potter had followed, and like Neville, he too had cried himself to sleep. The two snoozed in their cribs, unaware that two house elves feared for their fates.

"What is, Dobby?" asked Winky. For all her reverence to the Crouches, she'd grown fond of the children. It was hard on her to have to choose between the two.

"My master is to be sending us aways, with the babies," said Dobby, his bulging tennis ball sized eyes looking frantically at her.

"And my master? What is he be doing?" asked Winky nervously.

"I is not knowing, but Winky, we is to be going with a coward man, the one who brought baby Potter, we is to be on the run!" said Dobby frantically.

"I is not liking this one bit Dobby, babies aren't made for running!" said Winky.

"What if coward man tries to hurt babies?" asked Dobby quietly to Winky.

"If my master is leaving me with babies, I is protecting babies, is my job as a good elf," said Winky.

"And I is liking babies, they don't hit Dobby, I is protecting them too," agreed Dobby.

"Then we is to be packing Dobby," ordered Winky, "Dress Master Ron."

"Yes ma'am," said Dobby.


	9. Everything Turns to Smoke

**DISCLAIMER DON'T OWN POTTER**

**Anyways, so I think for the next part I'll just use longer chapters and longer spacing between until my exam season is up. My exams are a little over a month away, so school's getting my attention lately. This chapter is pretty depressing, and though I promised the Trials and stuff, it worked better this way in my head.**

**As well, about Hermione, I will have her in the story, but much later. She make a few cameo appearances as like a side character, well, actually, just one, in the middle, but I won't reveal much. It's not concrete yet so I can't promise, but I can tell you that she isn't due to show up until they go to Hogwarts, which is a long ways away. Enjoy the chapter!**

**PS: I made some edits to the part of the chapter that Trilonias pointed out were wrong, and also went back and re-explained the DNA concept.**

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><p><strong>Everything Turns to Smoke<strong>

Peter couldn't believe it. He had been relocated to a smaller Lestrange vacation home, given a thousand galleons and told to enjoy the rest of his life on the run by Malfoy. As if that wasn't horrible enough, Malfoy had shoved all the kidnapped children into his arms and sent him off. He wanted to scream in anger and frustration. The only upside was the plan he'd come up with. Should it work, then Sirius and Remus would never come after him.

That was his biggest concern at the moment. If Sirius and Remus ever got a hold of him, he shuddered at the possibility. They'd kill him. Without a doubt, he knew they'd kill him without mercy. And deep down, he was afraid of death. He couldn't die. Not yet. He had his whole life ahead of him. He was going to make it out of this.

"Sir, Aurors are barging the gates" said Dobby nervously.

"WHAT? I thought I told you to lock them!" hissed Peter angrily.

"I is sorry, sir," said Dobby, quaking in his boots.

"Damn it, they're early, check to make sure everything is set," said Peter, turning on his heels.

* * *

><p>"This is it boys, we're going to get the son of a bitch today," growled Alastor to the four Aurors behind him, including his two personal trainees, Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt.<p>

After working with the two for months on this case, he was going to be sorry to see them go. Rufus had the strict ethics and understanding of human nature and politics that made him priceless. He handled people like the press with ease and set up a good front for the public. He had a knack for capturing the bigger picture, though a bit dim in the sense of the details. If anything, he kept away idiots from this precious, high-profile case. And he was good on the scene as well. Kingsley was insightful and had a way with dealing with the victims of a large crisis that drew folks to him. He was patient and though less at ease with dealing with the press, he knew how to spot things that were basic in human nature, things any other person would miss. He needed work with dealing with crowds, and training to notice the larger picture, but like Rufus, he held potential. Yes, Alastor would be sorry to see them go.

"Right sir," said Rufus with a nod.

"Stop!" squeaked a voice at the top of the stairs. All four men turned to see Peter Pettigrew, trembling as he pointed his wand at them. Too easy.

"It's over Pettigrew, stand down," growled Alastor, signaling the boys to raise their wands with him.

"_Reducto!" _hissed Pettigrew, blasting the ground in front of Alastor's feet.

"Open fire!" roared Alastor, sending a stunner up towards Pettigrew.

"Idiot," snorted one of the Aurors, sending a Blasting Hex at Pettigrew.

"Don't kill him, capture, we need to find the kids," roared Rufus to the group.

"Hold on a sec," said Kingsley, loudly, his eyes wide.

Alastor's own eyes widened in shock. Pettigrew was summoning large flames from his wand, and not just any flames, Fiendfyre. The idiot!

"Move back!" ordered Alastor, but it was moot at this point. The Aurors fell back as a large flaming chimaera descended upon the ground.

"Does he have control over it?" asked Rufus as they exited out the door, the flames tearing away at ancient tapestries. Behind them, a large flaming beam fell from the roof onto a small table. A flaming Peruvian Vipertooth dragon descended to burn it.

"Unlikely, he looked shocked at the power behind the spell," yelled Kingsley, blasting apart the doors to get the Aurors out.

"Shit," yelled an Auror, as part of the top floor fell just near him.

"Hurry up!" ordered Alastor, turning around as he attempted to blow the flame backwards with some wind to buy the Auror some time.

"What about the kids? What if they-

"Get out Scrimgeour! Now!" ordered Alastor, a sickening feeling in his stomach. What if- No, he couldn't think that way. He had to get the team out first.

As the Aurors barreled out of the house down the hill that Lestrange Mansion sat upon, they could feel the flames devouring the house, rising in spirals and burning the place to ash. The heat was hot on their trails, and the flames began to spread. The back-up Auror team was busy at work, conjuring the counter-curse water to try and douse the flames away, but the fast spreading flames were only contained by the water.

"Fuck this to hell, Team A, spread out and begin building a barrier, the counter is too slow, contain the fire, once it goes to hell then we're screwed, let it burn out! Team B, spread out, douse the flames that are heading towards the trees, to towns and anything, now!" roared Alastor over the panic. Immediately the Aurors moved to contain the mess.

"Damn it," roared Alastor in anger.

* * *

><p>Molly Weasley watched her children play in the yard. The house was quiet, a sort of gloomy silence filling her kitchen. Her baby Ginny slept upstairs in what was once Charlie's room. Charlie, however, had moved into Bill's room since the two were afraid to sleep alone. Percy still crawled into her bed at night, and despite Ginny having her own room, the crib seemed to always end up being moved to her room, so she knew her baby was close.<p>

It felt strange, having a girl after six boys. Ginny's birth had helped her to begin to move on with her life and return to being a mother after Ron's kidnapping, but the wound was still there. Her family could never be the same. Despite the attic being repaired and the ghoul being placed up there, she'd barricaded off the attic, and locked everything remotely connected to her son in the attic. She couldn't deal with it, not now, not after this. Only a picture of Ron in her arms at Christmastime remained on the mantle, and in her room. Every night she sobbed silently for her baby, a hopeless desire to hunt for him boiling in her stomach. However, Arthur and Fabian had expressly forbidden her to do so. After Gideon's death, Fabian had pushed for her to stay safe. Yes, her family was very much in grief.

"Mum!" yelled a voice, and she turned to see Charlie leading a man she knew very well up to the kitchen. The man was Alastor Moody.

"Alastor! What news do you have?" asked Molly, as she threw open the kitchen door to welcome him in.

"Ah, why don't you sit down, is Arthur around?" he asked carefully.

"Arthur's at work, what's the matter?" asked Molly as she rushed to brew a cup of tea.

"Charlie, why don't you go back to teaching Percy to fly?" suggested Alastor to the curious eight-year old boy.

"Kay," said Charlie, looking back curiously as he headed out the door, no doubt to call his brothers to spy on the meeting.

"Molly, please, take a seat, when does Arthur get back?" Asked Alastor.

"He's home in an hour, but really, Alastor, please, did you find him? Ron, his he alright?" asked Molly, her desperation lacing her voice.

"Sit down Molly," said Alastor in a firm tone, "We need to talk."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean dead?" asked Xenophilius, staring at Kingsley as though his entire world had shattered, which, Selene knew, it had.<p>

"The DNA samples taken from the ash brought up Luna's DNA alongside Susan Bones and Harry Potter's, Ron Weasley's and Neville Longbottom's has yet to turn up, but the tests should be conclusive any hour now," said Kinsgley quietly.

"But, there's still a chance, right?" asked Selene, "It could just be a stray hair or something!"

"Selene, Xeno, I'm sorry, the DNA test for identifying Fiendfyre bodies requires a large amount of DNA, well, more than just a few strands of hair at least, the house was watched the entire time, nobody saw anyone escape, and Anti-Apparition wards were set in place-

"NO! I refuse to accept this! Luna isn't dead! She's perfectly fine! The Gorbble-dooks I planted when she was born are a visual representation of life, they can only die if she dies according to the Armenian legend!" roared Xeno as he stood up, a deranged look in his eye.

"I- It's not true, Kingsley, she's just a baby, didn't you say that DNA potions can be faulty? It's relatively new and untested, "said Selene, tears entering her eyes.

"We can't trace magical signatures on babies Selene, they're signatures are too fragile and weak, and most kids don't develop a proper traceable signature until they turn five or six years old and accidental magic becomes a common occurrence. The DNA potions are faulty, but they trace to the nearest immediate family member, and well, if another member of Luna's family was amongst the ashes…" Kingsley trailed off, but the underlying message was still there.

No member of Luna's family was left besides her and Xeno. This was like losing Luna all over again. Her baby, her precious Luna, was dead. That wasn't possible. Just a few months ago, Luna was in her arms, babbling away in baby-talk. She was alive; those pretty grey eyes weren't just burned to pieces. Her Luna, her precious Luna. Oh Merlin, her Luna! Tears fell down her cheeks as she hunched over to breathe again. But what did it matter if she was breathing? She'd failed. She was dancing while her Luna wailed for her! What kind of a mother was she? Oh Merlin's beard, her poor little Luna!

"Selene, Xeno, I promised that I'd do my best, and I'm sorry, I really am," said Kingsley, pain evident in his voice.

But what did it matter anymore? Luna was dead. Her baby girl had been burnt to ash by a mad-man, a traitor. And she had been at home, unaware that her daughter was dying. Unaware that her baby girl needed her. Just like last time. Her breath hitched as she began to shake, her anger and self-loathing making her cry harder. She couldn't breathe. An arm came around her but she ignored it. Her poor Luna was dead.

"I'm sorry Selene, I am," said Kingsley with a tight voice, "The Ministry is holding a funeral tomorrow, and it's going to be a huge memorial for the war. They're calling it the Final Sacrifice Memorial, I think you should attend, to grieve."

"Just go, please," said Xeno quietly, and Selene knew from his strangled voice that he was going to lose his control in a minute, and cry. They'd both lost together. A strange sense of cracking seemed to be taking place. Another straw broke in their relationship. Would the two survive together?

* * *

><p>"Welcome one and all to the Final Sacrifice Memorial! We call you today to mourn the loss of the Potters, Ronald Weasley, Luna Lovegood, the Longbottoms, and Susan Bones. These families and innocent babies were murdered as of last night, and their deaths bring forth the last era of mourning for the Wizarding World. We shall forever remember on this day of November second, the loss that brought forth a new dawn for the Wizarding World. The sacrifice made by these people, these innocents, is the final straw that we of the Wizarding kind can handle, and for that, we will honor this day as a remembrance to never fight a war again!" prattled the preacher at a podium.<p>

All around the field, Sirius could see wizards and witches gathered to mourn his best friends and their child, his godson. He looked over to see Augusta Longbottom, her gray hair gone fully white in shock over the recent events. Beside her, a thin reedy man who was her husband clutched her shoulder, looking just as shocked and aged as his wife. There was another family that would never recover what they had lost in just twenty-four hours.

Sirius's eyes travelled to Molly Weasley and her husband, with their band of children in tow. The baby was obviously asleep, but the rest of the children were very much awake and traumatised by the events, and who could blame them? They were burying five empty caskets the size of cradles as some sort of memorial service. It was sick and perverse option to honor the sacrifices of James and Lily potter, whose own coffins were filled with their bodies.

Those five, innocent lives had been snuffed out by his ex-best friend. In just twenty four hours, Peter Pettigrew had managed to turn the entire wizarding world of Britian on its head and forever leave his mark. This sight which once held the home of his friends was now to be turned into a place of sorrow. A place he ran to in hopes of escaping the sorrow of the world was now the only place that mourned with him the loss he felt. Irony was certainly working its magic today.

"This is bloody hilarious," he muttered to himself, as he watched the minister head up to say a few words of honor for the dead.

"James would have blasted the ministry if he saw this," agreed Remus beside him.

That was one positive thing about this situation. If you could even consider it a positive. Remus was still there, still solid and beside him. Remus understood his pain, and wasn't going anywhere.

"I need a drink," said Sirius mournfully.

"I was certain between the two of us we almost drowned in alcohol last night when we got word," said Remus heavily.

"Remind me how we survived," muttered Sirius back.

"I believe Amelia Bones found us at the ministry shouting profanities and demanding to see the bastards who served Voldemort, apparently we were disarmed and stunned and detained in record time," said Remus.

"Right," said Sirius, his eyes searching for Amelia.

He saw her seated beside a friend. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked tired and strained. Far older than a woman in her twenties. She looked almost forty. He wondered if the words reached her ears. She looked like a statue, as she glared at the ground.

A few feet away were the Lovegoods. Both were dressed in dark black, which in itself was a big thing considering they usually dressed in bright odd colors that made Sirius chuckle. Even today he couldn't hope for a break. Selene looked angry and he noticed the tension lingering in the air between her and Xeno. Oddly enough though, despite the anger the two were radiating, they were holding hands, or maybe clenching each other tightly, for support. The two couldn't rely on anyone else but each other for this moment. They would be the only ones to understand each other, and the only ones to blame each other at the same time. It was a horrible relationship, and he wished the best for the two, they deserved a second shot at this whole parenting deal.

"And now, let us bury the coffins, and raise our wands in a toast, a toast to peace and to the Final Sacrifice!" said the Minister, raising his wand.

"Fuck this shit," said Sirius, raising his wand with everyone.

**End of Part One**


	10. Memorial Day Part One

**Disclaimer: Still not JKR**

**So, this chapter took a while, and to be honest, I don't see the second once coming up soon. Another thing that bugged me was the lack of reviews. It kind of killed the buzz to keep writing. But, I kicked myself a bit, and persevered! Huzzah! I appreciate all my current reviews however, and for your sakes, will strive to take this to the end, whenever that is.**

* * *

><p><strong>Memorial Day Part One<strong>

A bitter breeze blew across Devon, England on a chilly November day in the year of 1986. The day to be precise was November second. All across the United Kingdom, muggles woke up and went about their daily business. Down in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole the muggles were preparing to open their stores and get down on a day's business. However, our story doesn't take place in the muggle side of St. Catchpole, instead, let us follow the bitter winds to the edge of the town, where a large, oddly shaped house stands.

The house looked rather strange, as though someone had rearranged it several times and got bored so they ended up with altered floors and distorted perspective. It seemed to defy all laws of physics as it stood proud and erect in the middle field. However, considering it was magical, it seemed not at all odd. Golden leaves fluttered delicately around the yard, whipping around with the breeze.

On an ordinary day, one might expect to see several red-headed boys out playing raucously. Occasionally a small red-headed girl may trail behind. If one looked much closer, they might see the boys hovering around on broomsticks and tossing apples towards each other. However, today was not an ordinary day in the Wizarding World, and for this particular family, it was not even a happy day as it was for the rest of the world.

Bill Weasley, now sixteen years old, found himself staring around the empty kitchen whilst drowning in bitter coffee. His brothers were all getting dressed in their finest robes for the occasion. What should have been a day of mourning for the Weasley family had been distorted into a day of celebration by the ministry. It was sickening.

What had once started out as a brilliant way to mourn the individuals, who died on this day, including Bill's youngest brother, had been distorted into a celebration day. The first two ceremonies had been solemn and peaceful. People paid their respects to the Potters, and offered their condolences to all the families, Bones, Longbottom, Lovegood, and Weasley. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin received condolences from a distance, mostly because Mr. Black was an incoherent drunk. Afterwards people would go out to drink and celebrate the dawn of a new era. For the families, they often retired to their own homes to mourn their losses. The Ministry had ordered a special holiday on the days of November 1st and 2nd. That's how Bill got out of Hogwarts and was sent home to celebrate. Of course, he'd probably still be forced to leave to show up at the Memorial Ceremony.

However, somewhere between the second ceremony and third, an idiot had come up with the idea to bring in some celebration to the Memorial Ceremony. People would cheer and laugh and congratulate each other. The Potter Family had received an Order of Merlin during the fourth ceremony which Mr. Black had stumbled on stage to collect, before throwing up on Minister Bagnold. Peddlers would go through the crowd, selling tokens and toys to children. Stories of the day would be retold over and over again. Last year, a man had the gall to tell his mother that it was lucky she had so many children, otherwise she's have ended up like the Lovegoods.

This year was possibly going to be the worst year. They had planned to do a re-enactment of the entire day, starting from the destruction of You-Know-Who, leading directly into what had been tragically titled the Final Sacrifice. Then they'd have speeches and to make the entire thing even better, they were presenting each family with some kind of gift to acknowledge their loss. They did it every year.

The first year his family had received a thousand galleons. The second year, they'd received a basket of toys and clothes. The third year they'd been given more galleons. The last year had been the worst yet. Beside the grave of James and Lily Potter, they'd erected five, tiny headstones, to supposedly symbolize the five children who died. His mother had almost gone hysterical when she read Ron's name on the first one. They were in order of how the children had been taken. The Daily Prophet had written her entire episode as some kind of grief and gratitude garbage.

"Is mum awake yet?" asked Charlie, as he stumbled downstairs.

He was dressed appropriately in sombre navy blue robes. At fourteen, he was just beginning to grow, and would be a matter of time before his robes would be handed down to Percy. Despite the ministry having given the Weasley's a large sum of money the year his brother died, and then later the thousand galleons, his family remained frugal to the core. The money was set aside for things like education and major expenses. No one was comfortable in using the money for what it symbolized. His mother on principal had the money separated in the Gringotts vault, and refused to touch it.

"I don't think so. Dad's probably trying to convince her out of bed," said Bill.

"Or he's attempting to slip and injure himself in the shower," said Charlie.

"He'd never let mum go alone to the bloody ceremony by herself, especially not after last year," said Bill with a shake of his head.

"This year they'll be focusing on us," grimaced Charlie.

"Yeah, the first appearance by the entire Weasley Family, I mean, since Ginny is coming too," said Bill with a groan.

"Did you get Ginny dressed yet?" asked Charlie.

"No, I'll get her up, can you make breakfast for everyone, I doubt mum will be capable of it today," said Bill.

"I'll get started," promised Charlie, already searching for some eggs.

Bill climbed up the stairs, past his room, where he saw his younger brother. He stopped. Percy was wearing his robes, and had some paper in his hand as he looked towards a large mirror. Bill's room held the only full mirror for someone to look at themselves. Curious, Bill began to watch his younger brother whilst trying to puzzle out why Percy was looking at himself.

"Good day madam Minister, my name is Percy Weasley. On behalf of the Weasley Family, I want to tell you that we are not going to stay and are leaving, thank you very much. You see, we have all these reasons for leaving that it just makes better sense that we go now," said Percy, reading awkwardly off of his sheet, that Bill stifled his laughter with his fist.

Something about the ten year old in robes a bit too short, preparing a speech for the Minister was hilarious.

"What are you doing Percy?" asked Bill, entering the room.

"I'm practicing my speech!" said Percy solemnly, staring up at Bill with big blue eyes through his horn-rimmed glasses.

"I see that, but why?" asked Bill, sitting down on Percy's bed.

"Because I don't want to go," said Percy with a scowl, moving to sit beside his older brother.

"None of us do, but telling the minister doesn't help anyone, she can't excuse us anymore than we want to be excused," said Bill.

"Why not?" asked Percy, taken aback.

"Well, the minister has to make everyone happy, and the general people are happiest when they get to celebrate today, because for them, todays not about loss, it's about winning. We have to go because we're like the reminder of the final loss. People want to see us because we're like the last connections to the war, and to losing. They want to make themselves sad for us and think that we're unhappy for them," said Bill.

"That's stupid, why do they want us to be sad Bill?" asked Percy.

"They don't want us to be sad; they just treat us as the closest thing to heroes. People expect us to be sad because we lost our brother, but they want to feel like they're doing well by making us happy with this ceremony. In the ministry's twisted mind, this ceremony is to make us happy," said Bill bitterly.

"But it doesn't make us happy," said Percy, confused.

"Yes, but we can't tell anyone because that's making them look bad, and you don't make the ministry look bad," said Bill angrily.

"I'm going to make them change," said Percy resolutely.

"Sure thing kid, but why don't you save speeches for when you're older?" suggested Bill.

"Fine," pouted Percy.

"Go downstairs and help Charlie make breakfast," said Bill, as the two walked out of the room.

Bill continued walking across the hallway until he reached Ginny's room. Inside, he saw his younger sister. She was still asleep in her bed. Her red hair fanned out around her messily. Her pale cheeks were slightly rosy with color. Clutched tightly with her tiny fists was a patched and dirty green dragon toy. It was Totty.

"Stupid dragon," muttered Bill with slight fondness as he approached his sister to wake her up.

When Ginny had been born, Charlie had given up Totty to her. It had surprised everyone since he absolutely adored the dumb dragon. Later on, Charlie had explained, as best as a nine year old can, that it was to protect Ginny. Charlie had somehow worked it out in his head that Totty had saved Bill and Fred from the evil men and that's why they'd made it to Muriel's safely on that godforsaken night. So he gave the dragon to Ginny to protect her from the evil men, because he didn't want to lose another baby.

"Wake up Gin, it's time to get dressed," said Bill, shaking Ginny slightly.

Immediately, her brown eyes popped open, and she gave him a big smile.

"Totty's not dumb, and I'm already awake!" she said, sitting up proudly.

"It's time to get ready for the ceremony today," said Bill.

"Alright," said Ginny, as she bounced out of bed to pull on her new dress for Memorial Day.

"Excited, are we?" asked Bill.

"Well, Percy told me that they're doing a big play and it's all about Ron!" said Ginny excitedly.

Bill frowned. Ginny knew the story about Ron, but, in hindsight, she really didn't know about his death. In her mind, Ron was another brother who'd disappeared and then became a hero when he died. None of the Weasley's particularly liked to talk about Ron. He suddenly had a grave feeling in his stomach. This would be the first time Ginny would get all the dirty details about Ron's death. Could she really handle it?

"It's not all about Ron," said Bill.

"I know, but it talks about Ron. Percy said Ron was a really cute baby, and that he would have been a really good big brother to me, do you think so?" asked Ginny, as she began stuffing Totty in an absurd doll's dress.

"I'm certain he'd have loved you," said Bill with a smile.

"Bill, why does nobody want to go?" asked Ginny, once again displaying her childlike insight to complicated matters.

"It's one of those things that will make you sad," said Bill.

"Oh," said Ginny, frowning.

"Let's get you dressed, alright?" said Bill, not wanting to upset his sister on what was sure to be the worst day in her life.

* * *

><p>"Wake up Sirius!" called Remus. His voice rang throughout the poorly maintained apartment.<p>

Remus sighed. Five years ago, he and Sirius had drunk to their sorrows. Fast forward five years, and Sirius was still drinking. Remus would confess that he too partook in his fair share of alcoholism, but, having to be the bigger person, had let the drink go to care for Sirius. He owed it to his last remaining friend to atone for his sins of not believing him in that last moment. He owed it to James and Lily, who he'd already failed when their son died. He owed it to the Marauders to keep what was left of their last unhappy members alive. It wasn't easy, especially since Sirius was intent on drowning himself in sorrow.

He himself had tried getting a job at a library, and raked in a few galleons to support himself and Sirius. Sirius had given up on supporting himself at all, and was best only when he was drunk. It wasn't that sobering up would be difficult for Sirius; it was just easier for Sirius to face people when drunk. He was just so angry and depressed that the high from the alcohol made him a lot more tolerable, if obnoxious and stupid.

"Remus, is that you?" groaned a voice from underneath some dirty laundry. Remus made a note to scourgify that mess, and then possibly burn it.

"Are you awake? It's time to get dressed to go celebrate," said Remus sardonically.

"Fuck me, that's today," said Sirius, as he lifted himself up and began to search for a bottle.

"They're empty," said Remus as he helped Sirius to his feet.

"Bloody hell, couldn't you have replaced them?" asked Sirius with a glare.

"When you're showered and presentable, maybe," said Remus.

"Who cares if I'm bloody presentable? Skeeter won't be looking at be for gossip. She'll be looking at the Weasleys, or the Lovegoods," said Sirius.

"As far as I recall, last year she published a lovely article on our relationship," said Remus with his own smirk.

"Which one? The one where I'm the abusive tyrant and you're my meek-mannered friend trying to support me in our eternal grief? The one where I was your lover and then at the loss of our best friend and godson, I broke and you still attempt to care for me in your love? Or the one where my antics constantly make you miserable, but deep down, you know I'm just a wild, lost soul and you need to stand by my side and care for my tortured soul, in hopes that I one day wake up and realise we were meant to be?" asked Sirius.

"I think she published all three last year, she feeds off the Memorial Day service like a vulture preying on the dead," said Remus, his face falling at the appropriateness of the analogy.

"Just so you know, I would propose to you, it's just I would embarrass you at our wedding," said Sirius mockingly.

"Oh shut up. Get yourself showered or else," said Remus.

"Or what?" asked Sirius.

"I'll hose you down and make you go through the service sober," said Remus with a smirk.

"Bloody hell. This is a mutiny! Just you wait; I'll corner Skeeter this year and tell her all about how I'm the abused one in this relationship! It's about time I got some sympathy," said Sirius as he got up to shower.

"Oh be gone with you," said Remus, as Sirius left to shower.

Remus sighed as he collected the _Daily Prophet _from the delivery owl. On the front page were details of what this year's memorial service would include. He'd already hidden from Sirius the re-enactment, and he knew that Sirius would be enraged by it. He had been boiling already. It had taken all his self-control when he read it to keep Moony from emerging in the middle of the library and tear down the shelves in rage.

When the early ministrations by the Prophet had turned up in an attempt to glorify this day, Xeno had been furious. He'd printed article after article about the horror of this day. Selene had perched behind him adding insults where she could, channeling her anger into the magazine. However, the ministry had banned the issues from continuing and created a law that disallowed any negative publications about Memorial Day. So, in retaliation, the Lovegoods did what was possibly the only thing they could do without being hauled to Azkaban, they published one issue entirely on the horror of the war and the grief. Then they remained silent and refused to acknowledge the Memorial Day service.

The Quibbler was really the only magazine that seemed to fight the ministry. After many convicted Death Eaters walked free and many implied Death Eaters escaped trials, they'd published articles about the injustice. They had fought for all the Death Eaters to be tried under Veritaserum, but only succeeded in getting a trial for them all. Later, they continued to publish things the ministry didn't want revealed. Anybody who had a story could go to the Quibbler to have it told. Sometimes a few far-fetched and rather strange articles would crop up, but all in all, many angry people who wanted to be heard on controversial issues would go Xeno and Selene and have their articles published.

Bagnold had already decided to retire early. By next year, they'd have a new minister. Possibly an idiot who the peons at the ministry could control. They'd want someone who had a bit of charm and a kindly nature to him. They'd want someone who looked too nice to be someone the Lovegoods could paint in a bad light.

Remus paused in his thinking as he heard Sirius come out of the shower. A few broken items later, Sirius stumbled out of his room dressed in his nicest dress robes.

"The Prophet? Really?" asked Sirius, upon seeing the newspaper.

"It's the official newspaper of the ministry," commented Remus absently.

"It's bloody biased. Why didn't you get the Quibbler? At least then I could do the crossword and try out their recipes," said Sirius, sitting down at the table and grabbing an apple that looked rather brown.

"They have horrible recipes," said Remus with an eye roll.

"Some are good," argued Sirius.

"Only when you don't cook," said Remus.

"Whatever, how are the Lovegoods doing anyways?" asked Sirius.

"Still hot and cold," said Remus, "They hate each other some days, love each other on other days. I think that they're cracking under the strain that is marriage. They're having a tough time getting through losing their daughter. I don't think they've even considered having another child."

Sirius stared impassively at the table, leaving Remus to read his paper in an uneasy silence. They both agreed on one thing though in their silence, today was going to be hell.


	11. Memorial Day Part Two

**It's been far too long since I updated this. I took down the earlier notice. I've decided instead of taking down my story or leaving , I'll keep posting this here, until the end. Sorry for the scare :( Depending on how things work out, I may do a sequel later on which I leave no guarantees to where it goes. **

**This chapter was pretty fun to write. It's a bit choppy, but that's because I didn't want to get into the over-emotional aspects and leave it as a brief and quick brush on things. That, and descriptive paragraphs just weren't flowing well. **

**So, er, yeah. Tell me what you think. **

**Disclaimer: NOT MY CHARACTERS. JKR TAKES CREDIT FOR THOSE. And some other stuff. **

**Memorial Day Part Two**

Ginny watched the crowds surging by in awe as she sat on the lower right stage. People were laughing and talking, shaking each other's hands, and smiling. Her family seemed to be the odd ones out. Her family was looking at the crowd in silence, their faces sullen, and a sense of unease in the air. All over the grounds, people were decked in bright reds, and golds, a few silver, a few pinks, moving together like flowers in a garden. Her family was seated on a stage at the edge, in their fine, morose looking robes, looking elsewhere.

An elderly woman, dressed in a dark ermine brown coat came up the steps to the stage, passing them. She wore a large brown hat, with simple, dark roses bordering it. A mesh covered her face. She wore tall black heels and carried a golden fancy, bag. She too, blended in with her family, looking dark and sad, unlike the crowd below. Ginny was fascinated by the old lady, and stared at her so.

"Augusta," said her mother, rising from the top of the stage, and coming to kiss the formidable lady on both cheeks. Her mother looked pale and sad, and hadn't spoken a word all day.

"Molly! It's been too long," said Augusta, taking her mother's hands between her black-gloved hands.

"Boys, come say hello," said her mother, and her brothers rose reluctantly. The each politely shook hands with Augusta who said some pleasantries in response.

"Ginny, you come too. You haven't met my daughter, Ginevra, have you?" asked her mother, bringing the elderly lady forward to see Ginny.

"Hello there, Ginevra," said Augusta, and now Ginny could see the formidable lady's face.

Her old face was lined and weathered. Her hair, tiny wisps of snow white, framed it. She looked nearly a hundred years old and dark circles were under her eyes, similar to the ones under her mother's. Her lips were done in a bright red, as though begging attention to be drawn away from her sad eyes.

"Hello ma'am," said Ginny squeakily in response.

"Molly, let's take a seat, I'm sure you must be tired," said Augusta, leading her mother away.

Ginny watched the two ladies go, both clinging to each other. The two both took the seats assigned to them on the right side of the upper stage. Neither spoke a word to each other, just stared vacantly at the crowd. The old lady seemed so strong, yet so sad, like her mother.

"That's Augusta Longbottom," said Percy, pulling Ginny back to her seat on the lower side of the stage, away from the spotlight.

"Who?" asked Ginny, sitting down beside Percy again.

"She lost her entire family in the last five years," said Percy quietly.

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"She had a husband who used to come with her, but he got very sick sometime last year. He passed away only a few months ago," said George, tuning into the conversation.

"That's terrible!" said Ginny, "But she's so old, doesn't she have children?"

"She had a son, but he and his wife, they turned really loopy after the war, they're in St. Mungo's permanently," said Fred.

"What?" cried Ginny in horror, "But she's here because she's an important official right?"

"No, her grandson became a hero, like Ron," said Percy quietly.

"So, she's all alone?" asked Ginny, suddenly feeling a strange sadness and tears in her eyes for the old lady.

"Pretty much yeah," said the twins in synch.

Before they could continue, an important looking woman dressed head to toe in dark purple robes ascended the stage. She nodded to her brothers and smiled. The woman too had the same dark bags as her mother under her eyes. She looked much younger, and had a pretty sort of face. She continued on briskly, and took a seat at the top of the stage.

"Who's that?" asked Ginny, still staring at the woman.

"That's Amelia Bones, she's a pretty important lady in the ministry," said Percy quietly, with a slight sense of awe. His cheeks were a slight pink after she smiled.

"Percy fancies her," whispered Fred audibly.

"Is she related to a hero too?" asked Ginny with a sense of dread.

"Yes. She's related to a hero. She has no family either," said George.

Ginny sat quietly for the next few minutes. Her eyes darted up to the pretty lady, Ms. Bones. Ms. Bones kept her hair primly back in a neat bun. Her face had a no-nonsense look about it. She moved to look at a paper in her lap, before exchanging a few polite words with her mother. However, her concentration was broken as a raucous laugh was heard behind her.

She turned to see a tall, handsome man climbing the stairs. Beside him was a taller, leaner, wearier looking man. The handsome man had dark hair, and striking blue eyes. He had a hip flask in one hand. His clothes were elegant, fine dark green robes. The man beside him had shabbier looking brown robes. He had sandy brown hair, and warm amber eyes. He seemed to be friendlier looking as well. The handsome man looked slightly scary, and he seemed too tense for his laugh to seem kind.

"Weasleys! Nice to see you here!" said the handsome man, and he clapped Bill on the shoulder.

"Hello Mr. Black," said Bill with a grin, the first smile of the day. Ginny decided he wasn't too bad after all if Bill liked him.

"I've told you, it's Sirius," said Sirius with a grin.

"Who's this?" asked the second man, looking directly at her with those kind eyes. She blushed in response and ducked behind Percy, feeling oddly shy.

"This is Ginny, Mr. Lupin," said Percy, nodding towards his sister.

"Nice to meet you Ginny," said Sirius loudly, extending a brazen arm towards her. She peeked out in front, only to get a pat on the head.

"Let's get up on the stage, it looks like they're starting," said Mr. Lupin, pulling Sirius away.

"Who's that?" asked Ginny, staring at the two men in awe.

"That's Sirius Black and Remus Lupin," said the twins together.

"Are they both related to a hero too?" asked Ginny.

"They're related to the main heroes of the event. They're best friends with the Potters. Mr. Black was godfather to their son," said Percy.

"They're also a couple," said Fred.

"What?" cried Ginny in surprise.

"That's just a rumor," said Percy, glaring at Fred.

"But they live together and neither have dated a woman," said George.

"So, they're married?" asked Ginny, struggling to understand.

"Would you two shut up? What if they get upset if they hear us?" asked Percy, looking highly horrified at the idea.

"All of you, just shut up, the main event is starting," said Charlie, pointing to the stage.

* * *

><p>Sirius stared at the minister. Bagnold was such a bitch. Up there in her elegant silver robes. Going on about the greatness that had come out of the war. And the public was just eating it up. Fuck the world.<p>

"And now, to begin our grand event of the day, in remembrance of the story we live to tell, let the play begin!" said Bagnold in that annoyingly grating voice of hers.

"Play?" asked Sirius to Remus, whose normally calm face was twisted into a grimace, and his fist clenched.

"Didn't I tell you?" said Remus in his evasive voice.

But before Sirius could say anything, the stage parted, and the play began.

* * *

><p>Ginny was finally grateful that all the speeches were over. She perked up as the play began.<p>

"A long time ago, a dark decision was made, for all the children across the land, to be taken from their mother's hand," began an eerie voice.

A scene showed up as a picture of her mother holding her brother, Ron.

Then the scene parted, and she saw a red-headed witch appear on the scene, holding what looked like a baby. The baby had red-hair and gurgled back up at her.

"Today's going to a be wonderful day," babbled the red-headed witch to the baby

Ginny stared in confusion, only to see all her brothers looking at the scene in horror. Bill had his fist clenched, and Charlie was pale. She looked over to where her mother was. Her face was one of fear and shock. Her eyes wide and open, her jaw dropped.

"Not so fast, give us your child," said a man, entering the scene in a hooded cloak.

"Never!" said the red-headed witch, who Ginny now realised was her mother. And the baby in her arms she realised now was her brother.

"You can't escape me!" said the hooded man.

The mother-actor ran from the cloaked man, brandishing her wand. The fake-baby began to cry. Music began to play. The music fit the mood, and grew louder and louder as the man approached her. He then grabbed the baby out of her mother-actor's arms, and the music ceased. Only the wailing of the fake-baby sounded. In the audience, people were sobbing into their handkerchiefs. She felt sick.

"At last, I have done it!" said the hooded man and he began to laugh, and he exited the stage with the baby, and Ginny began to cry.

* * *

><p>Selene had wanted to leave the entire time the Bones were shown. A green light was cast from the actor's wands to show the Bones parents murder. The baby was taken. Amelia hadn't flinched. Her face was pale, but otherwise, she had seemed so strong. Selene looked to Xeno. He was ashen. They knew what was coming next. Selene had a strong suspicion they ministry didn't want them to look pitiful. They had too much anger with the Lovegoods anyway.<p>

"Let's go out tonight, my love," began a blonde, ugly looking actor on the stage. He had a large pot-belly and unlike the Bones's actors, didn't look anything like Xeno.

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea! We can leave Luna with a sitter," said the blonde lady actress, who was far skinny to remotely resemble her.

The two actors skipped gaily off the stage, leaving one the baby-dolls used for the presentation on the stage. Selene wanted to vomit. Every nerve of hers wanted her to get up and leave. But she couldn't. She was paralysed in shock.

The baby laid in the basinet on the stage, presumably sleeping. The sitter appeared. Just an ordinary eighteen year old girl. She was shown sending off letters to her friends, for the last time. And then the hooded actors arrived.

"No, please!" screamed the girl.

"Hahaha!" laughed the Death Eaters meanly. They fake-killed the sitter and took the baby from the bassinet, who was now awake and shrieking. Selene was shaking.

"Waaa!" wailed the baby, as it was carried off the stage. And Selene got up, and left.

* * *

><p>"But the final crescendo took place the night of Hallows Eve," said the narrator. Almost all the audience was weeping openly now. Sirius was horrified, even alcohol couldn't numb this shock.<p>

"When two horrors left. One was the Dark Lord himself, and the other, his most dangerous followers. The Death Eaters descended upon the house of the Longbottoms, the Dark Lord to the Potters," said the narrator.

The scene opened. It began as an actor to play James and Lily appeared with a dark haired baby. Sirius's throat constricted. No! He didn't want to see this, someone, halt the play.

"Harry's just an angel, look at our sweet baby," said Lily-actress, holding the baby doll for the audience.

"Our family is perfect, nothing can ruin us now," said James-actor loudly to the audience.

Sirius clenched his fists, and bit his lower lip until it bled. This was cruel. It wasn't fair. Not James, not Lily. They were so happy. They never deserved what they got.

"Maybe I can!" said the Voldemort-actor theatrically as he entered. Some ninnies in the audience started to scream.

"No! I won't let you!" said James, brandishing his wand. Lily removed hers, and baby Harry started to cry.

Both parents began to duel the Voldemort-actor. Sirius was horrified as he watched. His anger slipped away to sadness. Even a mockery of what happened that night hit too close to home. He watched as the Potters dealt heavy blows, until finally, Lily fell first. The James actor cried out, only to drop dead a moment later. Baby Harry had fallen from Lily's arms onto the floor.

"At last, it is my moment," said the Voldemort-actor, as he descended upon the baby.

"And he dealt the blow, only for moments later," said the narrator, and Sirius felt some relief enter. He couldn't bear to watch the curse being attacked at his godson, even in mock.

The stage fell, and the Voldemort actor disappeared, most likely via apparition.

"No! My Lord!" said a squeaky voice. Sirius felt hot-white rage as a Wormtail-actor showed up on the stage, looking distraught.

"This can't be! I'll take the baby!" continued the actor. He descended over baby Harry, and took him. Then the two popped away, and the scene closed.

* * *

><p>Ginny was openly sobbing now into Charlie's arms. She'd have gone to Bill, except he already had Percy in his arms. Percy had jumped up immediately after the attack and into Bill's arms. He had his angry face on. Charlie had picked her up, looking so broken, only to fuel on Ginny's tears. The twins were clinging to each other in the way only they understood. Ginny just wanted to hug her mother.<p>

Molly Weasley was openly flustered and distraught. Her head was buried into her husband's shoulder and she was crying. Her father didn't seem much better.

"But the final blow, happened at the Lestrange manor, on November First. The Final sacrifice, the descent our five little heroes took to Elysium," said the narrator.

And Ginny watched in open horror as a large house was erected on stage. Half the house was cut away to reveal a bottom floor and a top floor. Instead of hooded men appearing to the house, a wild looking man led a team of Aurors onto the scene. The actor who had taken the last baby was shown inside the house. Upstairs she saw her brother-baby with the other fake-babies.

"Incendio!" cried the actor-man, and the house began to burn. The fire spread quickly, and the Aurors evacuated.

Ginny watched as the babies, who had been sitting up in the top floor of the house, turned into five little angels. They hovered on the stage, as everything around them turned to smoke. A calming, soothing song began to play on the stage as the babies hovered. The song was soft and a singer's voice came on.

_And we watch the fire burn_

_ We watch the evil die_

_ Slowly the tides shall turn _

_ Let us no longer cry_

_ The fear has come to end_

_ The night has turned to dust _

_ Rejoice and celebrate_

_ We were there to defend_

_ No more the years of mistrust_

_ Rejoice and celebrate_

_ And we watch the fire burn_

_ We watch the evil die_

_ Slowly the tides shall turn_

_ Let us no longer cry_

_ Wizards gather here to see_

_ The end of war gone by_

_ Rejoice and celebrate_

_ We now watch as we fly free_

_ Free to never cry_

_ Rejoice and celebrate_

_ And we watch the fire burn _

_ We watch the evil die_

_ Slowly the tides shall turn_

_ Let us no longer cry_

The song began to fade out. The five little angels upon the stage began to fade away, taking the smoke with them. The stage was clear, and the curtains dropped. Everywhere loud applause began. Ginny stared in horror at the crowds. How could they cheer that? Ron was dead! He was gone like the fake-angel.

A man came up on stage to collect an award for designing the music, and people waved brightly. She jumped from Charlie's lap, and began to run away. She didn't want to see this anymore. Charlie didn't move to come after her. He simply brought his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. Bill watched her go. She was headed towards the graveyard area. There were Aurors stationed around it to control the crowds, she'd be fine. Besides, he knew his Uncle Fabian was stationed there at the moment on purpose.

* * *

><p>Sirius stumbled around; he'd downed his entire flask of whiskey. The angel Harry still stuck in his mind. Remus had told him to go before he created a scene. Ever the calm one. Dammit all to hell. He'd left the grounds and moved backwards toward the graveyard. Aurors were stationed to block visitors from entering in floods. No one was here anyways. The show was too good.<p>

"S'not fair," he heard a little voice sniffle. Looking around, he saw a red-headed girl tucked behind a bush and crying. Definitely a Weasley brood. He vaguely remembered being introduced to her earlier.

"Isn't it?" asked Sirius, approaching her, dimly wondering how she got here.

The girl jumped up to see him. She looked terrified at being caught.

"How'd you get here?" he asked curiously.

"I ran and ran until I couldn't see anyone," she responded in misery.

"Well, I'd ask how you escaped your mother, but considering she's probably dead to the world at the moment…" he trailed off.

"Why is everyone so happy?" asked Ginny miserably.

"Because everyone's a moron kid," said Sirius, taking a seat.

"Amen to that," said a voice. The two turned to see Selene Lovegood, looking highly upset.

"Selene, join the party!" said Sirius loudly, calling her over. She took a seat on the other side of Ginny.

"Ginny!" cried a voice. The three turned to see the entire Weasley family approaching.

"There you are!" cried her mother, picking her into her arms and squeezing her tight.

"It was horrible mummy," cried Ginny back to her mother, burrowing into her shoulder to cry.

"I know sweetheart, I know," said Molly, holding her tightly.

"Is everyone here?" asked Xeno's tired voice as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Looks like it," said Remus, following behind him.

"What are all of you doing here?" asked Selene in surprise.

"They let us go. We're allowed to visit the graves early. I'm sure a reporter is stationed there to get some pictures," said Amelia, August following right behind her.

"Just once, I wish we could mourn in peace. Not have our faces displayed on the newspapers," said Arthur bitterly, as he clasped his young twins sons shoulders.

"Wishes are meaningless. They enjoy twisting today into some kind of fiesta," said Augusta solemnly.

"Let's just get on with it," said Remus, nodding towards the gates.

"By next year I probably won't even be here to enjoy the festivities with you," said August soberly as the large group began to move.

"Why is that?" asked Amelia to the elderly lady.

"What do I have left? I'm old and alone in this world. Maybe it's time for me to just rest," said Augusta.

"Oh, Augusta, don't think like that!" said Molly in horror.

"Why shouldn't I? Don't tell me none of you haven't thought about your loneliness. Of course, you have all your children Molly. Sirius and Remus have each other. The Lovegoods have each other. Amelia has her work. What do I have left?" asked Augusta, as though discussing the weather.

"So you'll just take your own life?" asked Amelia quietly.

"Please, I would never stoop to that level. But Death has a way of finding the ones who have nothing left to live for," said Augusta, her own voice cracking.

"At least you took your children to adulthood," said Selene, and Xeno's face darkened.

The entire group was now paused in an empty area in front of the gates to the graveyard. A loud celebrating noise was heard from the valley below where the stage and audience were packed to celebrate. They stood in the silence.

"Nothing's the same when you're alone anymore. Even being in the house is lonely," said Amelia heavily.

"Holidays are the worst," said Remus, "You just wish they could celebrate too."

Everyone stood in silence. Selene bent her head towards Xeno, as the Weasley kids shuffled uncomfortably.

"Come for Christmas," said Arthur suddenly.

"What?" asked Sirius.

"Me and Molly aren't too lonely on Christmas with all the kids, it hurts less. Christmas is just around the corner anyways. Augusta, you shouldn't be alone on the holidays, and neither should you Amelia. Besides, Molly's the best cook around. The kids are plenty entertaining," said Arthur firmly.

"We insist. Xeno, Selene, you two just live around the corner anyways, come along. We can open presents, light fireworks, and just, be together," said Molly, still clinging to Ginny tightly.

"Does that invite extend to us as well?" asked Sirius, nodding to himself and Remus.

"Always," said Arthur.

"Besides, I doubt any of you want to go anywhere public to celebrate," said Molly bitterly.

"We're just fitting into the perfect stereotype for the ministry to exploit," muttered Amelia.

"I wouldn't want to impose," said Augusta.

"Especially you. No more of this negative thinking. We all deserve happiness," said Arthur, "Especially after today."

"Alright, let's celebrate together," said Sirius cheerfully.


	12. Goodbye

Hello Everybody,

Hey there ladies and gents. So, it's been a while since I posted an update here. You're all well aware of the Reading The Books Purge that started so long ago, and took away some excellent fiction from this site. I was hoping that by not updating this story, and by pretending it doesn't exist, Fighting For the Future with Friends would go ignored and remain up here to be enjoyed for a little while longer. I'm not quitting, I've been editing chapters, altering the story, and was posting it on the Readingthebooks. Proboards .com created a while ago, but due to issues with the Proboards staff, it's not up there anymore.

That's why I am continuing the story on yourfanfiction. com, and can be found there under the name G-novella. All my stories are up there, and I am making the edits to each chapter as I go along and posting. I'm up to chapter six, and should reach eight or nine soon. I know it's a bummer, but if you check the reviews, you'll see my official reprimand from a non-admin who decided to pick up the mantle and enforce the ignored TOS. It's a bit depressing, especially since it looked like only the stories with many reviews were being targetted, which makes me wonder just how much these so called critics or whatever were targeting stories that broke TOS and stories that were POPULAR and broke TOS.

I guess basically what I'm trying to say is, eventually this story shall be reported, and gone. Probably by the end of the week. I know it sucks. I know that Yourfanfiction is still up and coming, and many of you may be hesitant, but at this point, the fact that my alert list got cut by about 50, and that now my tiny little corner of the internet is being taken away, I'm seriously getting annoyed. Chances are, I'll be leaving this site for good soon. I'm not sure where I'm posting next, but at this point, I'm just tired of living in fear that this would happen to my story. And the fact that I've read about so many authors suddenly prosecuted for much less than many stories on here, well, it's a bit disgusting.

I've had a lot of fun on this site, and I'm glad I stuck around as long as I did. I've met a few interesting authors, and I've adored the reviews I'm getting, but I just don't like the way any user can take the TOS and use it to ruin good stories. I know I've said before that I'd stick it out, but I'm just tired of this site.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm hoping to either get on Archive of our Own, or start posting my non-RTB's on the Proboards site. I'll still use Yourfanfiction for Fighting For the Future with Friends and to keep my non-RTB's updated, and another RTB I plan to start up soon. If anyone would like a direct link to where I'm on, and where to contact me, please PM me.

-G. Novella


	13. It's been Too long

So, life got really busy, and I found that I had no time for anything anymore. Not even writing :( But now I'm done a lot of work, and I've been thinking about these stories, about life, and how they'll never be completed. I did join AO3, but the response there just was, well, nonexistent and I didn't find myself being able to use the system. Damn fanfiction for being so easy to use. And I have been checking PMs as they come (Not really, I checked them today. Don't quote me on that!) And the overwhelmingly positive response and pleas to return, well, I do want to.

**So I'm going to pick up where I left my stories off, and continue writing. Let's see where that goes. I'm really sorry for being so flaky, but this was the year where my grades matter for university. **

However, my RTB fic... that's another story. After careful consideration, I've decided I'll leave it up, but I'm going to repost the entire thing, as I made edits with the earlier chapters and made some drastic alterations to plot (I can't believe how cliche I was) and I'm going to post it separately. So watch my stories to see it posted. I'll mention the new title once I've finalized the revisions and put up the new and improved RTB 2.0

LOVE YOU ALL XOXXOOXXXO

Wish I had a chapter to post, but I literally just walked out of my last exam.


	14. Christmas Miracles

****Disclaimer: NOT MY CHARACTERS. JKR TAKES CREDIT FOR THOSE. And some other stuff.** **

****Long time no see! So this is the new chapter. It's late and I don't have time to really do a long I'm so sorry yada yada post. I did that earlier. ****

**The Christmas Miracle**

Back home in Devon, approximately seven weeks after the awful Memorial Ceremony, the Weasleys were fast at work preparing for their Christmas dinner. Fabian had already come first, to help set up the tree. He and the twins were laughing as they strung up the ornaments. Ginny had her old doll Ruby, and was busy stringing together the hair on the doll before they stuck her up on the tree. This year, Ruby had won the annual Angel Pageant. Molly was in the kitchen, stirring a broth for the soup she was making for dinner tonight, along with a full roast turkey, and several side dishes. Arthur had Charlie helping him decorate the house for Christmas. Together they were plodding together, stringing tinsel and mistletoe up together.

"Need any help in the kitchen, mum?" asked Bill as he walked downstairs, his hair damp from having just showered.

"I'm fine Bill dear," said his mother, as she began to hum happily, though not the way Bill remembered from his childhood. When they were younger, her tunes were bouncier. You could dance to them, and often, she would dance to them. The song would fill the kitchen, and be airy and happy, like the entire world was in her kitchen, bouncing to a beat. Now the songs were slower, more drawn out. The hum would carry a softer tune, just one you could hear as she stand beside her. She didn't dance. She wasn't the mum from his childhood.

"I'll get the dishes behind you," said Bill as he began to wash the soup tureen, just listening to his mother's song, working in a slow silence together.

* * *

><p>Outside on the edge of Devon, stood a strange, magical house. Unlike the Burrow, which lacked a definite shape and was all straight edges and awkward angles, this house had a definite shape. A tall, looming magical rook. The garden again was different from the Burrow's unruly but managed mess. This garden had grown wild in patches, as though it had no regulation. In others, carefully planted rows of plants were arranged. It was like a mixture of order and chaos. The front path to the garden was sealed off. Visitors weren't welcome.<p>

Owls floated in and out of the sky, dropping letter after letter in slow steady intervals, into a neat little device, meant to catch them. A large basket hung off of the house, where the letters landed. A tube lead the letters into the house, and straight onto the large oak table where Xenophilius Lovegood was sitting and editing the final article. It was a compelling read of a victim of a fraud in the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures who had been turned away from a supply of Wolfsbane, offered to werewolves who were good members of society. The conditions were outrageous, mostly because Wolfsbane was hard to produce and supply at a cheap cost. This poor victim had been denied the Wolfsbane because she had not submitted her Werewolf registration papers immediately after the war. The woman had fled to France. She wasn't even in England at the time! The gall of the ministry!

He wasn't dressed in his work clothes though. His robes were a fancy blue dress set, slightly worn since he hadn't worn them for years now. His brighter, happier coloured robes had been too intimidating to put on, but this sky blue, it suited him. Perhaps not Christmas, but the native Wizards of Mongolia had worn blue once to celebrate the birth of a king. So ergo, he could celebrate Christmas in blue.

"It's Christmas," came the low, husky voice of his wife, as she came behind him, "You aren't really working on Christmas, are you Xeno?"

"This issue is out tomorrow, Silly," said Xeno with a sigh, as he looked up at his wife. She was already sorting through the mail, her bag in her hand. She looked beautiful dressed in a somber red dress robe, her blonde hair pinned up with bright orange stars on her ears. It wasn't as festive as he remembered their first two Christmases, but it was more festive than the last two. He smiled as he placed an arm on her hip, but she flinched, and he drew it away immediately.

"Let's go, Xeno darling," said Selene, smiling, but there was a sadness in her eyes, "The Weasley's will be waiting, and the articles will be here waiting for us."

"But the letters! The subscription's for next year, I need to sort through them," said Xeno, grabbing the pile, "At least into the renewal's and new one's!"

"Not a chance!" replied Selene, grabbing all the letters and holding them away, laughing as they fell.

"Fine," said Xeno, but his eyes sparkled. There was something different in the air this Christmas, something warm and tingly. Something they hadn't felt since Luna was gone. Maybe, just maybe, things were getting better. Maybe, time was healing them together.

"Let's go," said Selene, as she tossed the letters behind her, and took her husband's hand, pulling him out along the door way.

* * *

><p>The festivity had begun around four in the afternoon, when the Weasley household received Augusta Longbottom, the only guest who was punctual. She was dressed in a festive green dress robe, but her eyes were sad. Ginny had seen her sad eyes, and when she asked what Mrs. Longbottom had done for Christmas, and if Santa had been good to her, the old lady had simply smiled a sad smile. She had visited family, she said, and Santa had not been very good this year. Her mother had ushered away from Mrs. Longbottom, who was already sipping a glass of fine wine from one of the two bottles she'd brought by the time Amelia Bones arrived.<p>

Miss Bones was dressed in an elegant looking set of red robes, with a gold piping that made her look grand and festive. Yet her hair was still in the incredibly tight bun, and she had brought along with her a large chocolate mousse cake for dessert. She took her refuge with Mrs. Longbottom. The two women seemed to understand each other, despite their age differences and the differences in their lifestyle. The women were currently discussing something ministry related with Daddy and Bill, while Charlie and Percy played chess against the twins. Ginny was sitting on her father's lap, not really listening, but enjoying his feeling.

"Selene and Xeno are here!" called Molly, as the two entered, smiling brighter than they had in a while. Ginny noticed Selene's eyes grow sad when she saw her, and the woman hesitated, before taking the open seat beside her daddy.

Bill had told her Luna would be her age, and that Mrs. Lovegood had trouble with children since her own baby was taken from her. Mrs. Lovegood had put her bag between her father and herself. Ginny stared as the woman gave her a strange smile, before the conversation continued. Mr. Lovegood seemed more social, while Mrs. Lovegood was more reserved and listened more. Ginny watched the woman curiously, as she sat on her father's lap.

"Can we join the fun?" asked a voice, and they turned to see Remus with a smiling Sirius, who was waving a large bottle of Firewhiskey, and both were dressed in simple black robes, Remus's again shabbier than Sirius's.

"I'm so glad you all came," said Mrs. Weasley, beaming as she began serving Christmas cookies around, while Uncle Fabian poured drinks for everyone and roped Sirius to the side. Charlie hovered near them, trying to sneak a drink, but Uncle Fabian and Remus were too quick for the young Seeker. He grinned as he took a seat, and said, "This is how Christmas should be! To us!"

"To us!" said everyone, cheering as their glasses were raised in the air.

The conversation continued idly, as Ginny slowly got bored. Her brothers had started playing Exploding Snap, but she hadn't joined. She was far too interested in the assorted adults around her. They seemed so different from the usual adults she saw. Sirius would make a silly joke, and she found herself giggling along.

"Oh, Molly, we bought something for Christmas!" said Mrs. Lovegood, searching her bag as she said so.

"What's that?" asked Ginny curiously, pointing to a white envelope with childish scrawl that was barely legible across it.

"A letter," said Selene, frowning as she read the front, her eyes furrowed. "Must be an article or subscription letter, though whoever wrote it must have some sort of condition. Ah well, it's no matter. It probably slipped in earlier."

"Can we open it? What's a subscription letter?" asked Ginny excitedly, glancing at the strange, foreign letter.

"Oh I suppose we can," said Selene with a small smile. "Subscription letters are sent by people who would like us to send them our magazine first."

She handed the envelope to Ginny, who ripped open the top flap, not bothering for neatness. Ginny loved letters. Uncle Fabian, and Bill and Charlie were the only ones who sent her letters though. The Lovegoods must be important, to have so many letters! She grinned as she finally opened the envelope, and the first thing she noticed was the picture in the envelope. Curious, she discarded the remnants, and plucked the picture first to peer at it, as her father and Selene shared an amused look, before taking a peak at the picture.

Behind Ginny, her father suddenly froze, while Selene took a large gasp. Both of them had paled as they stared at the photo in her hand, much to Ginny's surprise. She glanced curiously at them, and then back at the photo. It didn't seem so awful. She frowned at her father, while Mrs. Lovegoods gently took the photo from her fingers to look at.

"Impossible," said Arthur, unable to tear his eyes from the photo.

"What on earth are you two oggling at over there?" Asked Sirius jovially, "Did my love letter to Moony get mixed up?"

He came over with a bounce in his step and glanced over at the picture. His entire body went slack, and his glass slipped from his hand. It bounced uselessly on the ground from the Shatter-Proof charm. and dribbling the red whiskey all over the carpet. While the carpets soaked in the stench of alcohol, the room went silent staring at the three thunderstruck adults and one child observer.

"Sirius!" Said Remus with a frown, "What- Is there something in that picture?"

He frowned as he walked over, knowing Sirius never let go of his drink for no reason. His eyes glanced at the picture, and like Selene, he took a large gasp. His hand was shaking, and he stepped back as though he had been burnt. His eyes were wild now, feral. Remus closed his eyes, and began muttering things under his breath, before opening them again and moving forward to look at the picture. His amber eyes still retained the crazy look to them.

"What are you four ogling at like that?" Asked Mrs. Longbottom sharply.

"Can we see?" Asked the twins, bouncing over to take a look.

"No," said Arthur in a harsher voice than Ginny had ever heard, while gently pushing the twins back.

George pouted an identical pout Fred, and they both seemed to flush in anger. An identical crackle went into the air at being left out. Suddenly Arthur yelped as the picture in their hands grew larger and larger. Selene let go of it as it became the size of a dinner plate and kept on growing. It fell to the ground by the time it reached the size of a table and then stopped.

Now everyone was staring at the image, frozen in place by what they saw. The room was silent, and only the large gasps and sudden intakes of breath had any place in the silence of the room. The world was silent, and in that moment, each heartbeat seemed synchronized at an elevated, thudding pace.

The picture itself was not one of fright or danger. It was an innocent picture. There was a finger, a knobbly grey one, covering the top of the image, interrupting the flow. Below the finger was an innocent looking bench, with five kids seated along it in the middle of a park. The most bizarre part of the picture was the absolute stillness to it. Not a person in the picture moved.

On the extreme left of the photo was a thin, dark-haired boy with a rounded face. He had two buck teeth, and he wasn't facing the camera. Rather, he had some dirt in his hand, and a flower growing out of the dirt. His clothes were caked with mud, and looked shabbier than even the clothes of the Weasley twins, who had worn hand-me downs for years. Holey and large, they matched the clothes of the other children in the picture. Beside him, with her hand linked through the round little boy, was a red-haired girl.

Her red hair was cut short with full frontal bangs, and bright grey eyes that surveyed the camera with curiosity. Her smile was wide though, and she had a magazine tucked in her arm. Her frock was barely in one piece. It had evidence of several rips and tears. Around her shoulder was the arm of a second red-headed boy with long tangled red hair, a missing front tooth and several freckles splashed across his tanned skin, as though he spent many hours outdoors. His clothes were in the shabbiest condition, and he wore no shoes. He was laughing as he faced the third boy in the photo at the extreme right.

The red-headed boy's other arm was being held by a small blonde girl, who was half the height of the tall boy. She was clinging to it desperately as she held a copy of the Quibbler in her hands, pointing to the camera. Her blonde hair was long and dirty, knotted as she demanded something from the older boy. Her grey eyes and fair skin were soft and accentuated by her baby fat. Beside her, another dark haired boy was laughing, his green eyes alight with joy. His hand held a ball, which seemed to hover in the picture, a gold golf ball it seemed. His grey shirt was frayed and small on the far too thin boy, and his other hand was clasped on the blonde girl's shoulder.

"Impossible!" Shrieked Amelia Bones, her hand clapping over her mouth in terrified shock.

Everyone else was silent, staring at the picture as their skin paled. Mrs. Weasley approached the picture first, and got on her knees. Her fingers moved to the red-headed boy's face, and touched it, while Bill jumped up to stop her. Sirius had fallen to his knees by the right corner of the picture, just staring. Remus had clasped his shoulder, holding it for support. Augusta moved to Molly, and sat beside her on the left, staring at the image. Bill stood behind his mother, distraught as he watched his father come to the top of the picture and stare at it, clinging to Ginny.

"Luna," murmured Selene, sitting beside Mr. Weasley as the looked at the little blonde girl. Xenophilius had followed Amelia to the corner of the room, but neither could their eyes from the picture.

"But aren't they dead?" Asked Charlie, his face ashen as he came beside his father.

The twin culprits for the enlargement of the picture were standing by their mother, staring at the image. Both seemed shocked speechless, while Uncle Fabian moved to hold Percy, who had screamed in fright and was burrowed in his uncle.

"That's Ron?!" Squeaked Ginmy excitedly, "He's alive!"

"But- they were- the fire! Impossible!" Said Amelia, her eyes welling with tears.

"The letter! Get the letter!" Said Selene, as Charlie rushed to the envelope and plucked the letter.

"He's hovering a snitch," said Sirius with a sense of pride, "James would have been so proud."

"Read the letter!" demanded Xenophilius.

Molly's head snapped up, her hand still on Ron's cheek, and she asked desperately, "Letter? Ronnie wrote us?" as Charlie suddenly froze with all eyes on him.

"Read the letter!" Barked Sirius to Charlie, who fumbled before clearing his throat.

"Dear Mr and Mrs Lovegood," he began, and everyone glanced at the Lovegoods, who seemed taken aback themselves.

"My name is Susan- but my brothers and sisters call me Suzie."

"They're a family," said Augusta softly, glancing at the picture.

"I'm the second oldest in my family, R -Ro - Ron is my older brother. He doesn't have a short name, just Ron," continued Charlie, stumbling over the name Ron.

The Weasley's all gave gasps and seemed to move towards each other, as Molly burst into tears. Augusta held her close, softly brushing the woman's hair. Amelia Bones moved towards the picture, sitting beside Augusta and eying Susan's image closely.

"He doesn't know his full name," gasped Molly in shock.

"Younger than me are Harry, Neville and Luna," continued Charlie, as everyone in the room gasped or sucked in a breath.

"But I'm writing today for my youngest sister Luna," he continued, squinting to make out the writing.

"Luna wrote to us!" Said Selene excitedly, turning to Xenophilius, who looked pale and scared.

"Luna's only four and can't write just yet."

"Why not?" Asked Xenophilius, almost in a whisper. "We wanted to teach her by four, remember Selene?"

"I remember," whispered the woman.

"I have the best writing. Luna can't spell properly yet, she's just learning to read. Her favourite thing to read is the Quibbler- your magazine."

"She liked it?" Asked Xenophilius, sound scared and hopeful, as he moved towards the image tentatively, as though each step was a strain.

"She loves it!" Said Selene with a beaming smile.

"The boys are awful at writing. Neville gets dirt on anything he touches because he always plays in the garden with seeds and other icky stuff."

Augusta said nothing, but a small smile graced her lips as she glanced at the boy holding the flower. He seemed so sweet and innocent.

"Harry likes to draw more."

"Where'd he get that from?" Asked Sirius in surprise, "James liked doodling, but he was never a serious artist."

"He's six Sirius, he's not an artist," said Remus with a chuckle.

"I like writing and reading I suppose, but not as much as Luna."

"That's our daughter alright," said Selene cheerfully, her eyes dewy with tears.

"Alright, Luna wants me to write what she's saying now," continued Charlie.

"She's going to speak!" Squeaked Selene excitedly, while other parents looked wistful.

"Hi Mr and Mrs. Lovegood. My name is Luna. Just Luna. I don't have many names like the people in your magazine."

"Luna Lovegood, sweetie, that's your name," said Xenophilius quietly.

"She doesn't know any better," said Augusta softly.

"I'm four years old. I like your magazine lots! But some words are hard to read. I don't know what they mean. But I really like to read it. The pictures move! I've never seen anything with moving pictures before!"

"Muggle! They're growing up muggle!" Said Arthur in surprise.

"Why? How do we even know this is real? This could be a lie, couldn't it?" Asked Amelia, still uneasy.

"Who would do this though?" asked Augusta softly, "And Neville looks just like Alice did as a baby. He has some Frank, but more of his mother."

"But what if this is a lie? I mean, it's not hard to assume what they could look like!" said Amelia with a frown.

"I'll settle this," said Fabian, hovering his wand over the image. Nothing happened, and everyone in the room seemed to relax and tense again as the realization occurred.

"But how?" asked Amelia softly, her eyes wide and fearful.

Charlie noticed no one was speaking, so he tentatively continued, "How do you get them to move? Are you wizards like Wormy?"

"That rat bastard!" yelled Sirius, jumping to his feet, while a growl practically ripped from Remus's throat. Both seemed to have their hairs standing on their arms as they glared at the letter, and then at the picture.

"What?! Who's Wormy?" asked Arthur suddenly, staring at the two men, while Sirius suddenly turned and barked something to Remus quietly.

Remus left the room, still growling angrily and generally terrifying everyone in the presence. Sirius began to pace, his hand reaching out and punching a hole into a pillow. His eyes were crackling with an immense intensity of anger, and everyone gave him a wide berth as he angrily muttered to himself under his breath.

"Sirius, what's going on?!" ordered Amelia Bones, getting everyone's attention.

"Wormy- Peter's nickname- Wormtail. Harry called him Wormy," he managed to spit out, before going on to mutter a list of swears so long and vast that the impressionable twin Weasley's would never forget, and that young Percy would learn to use at choice moments. Some even shocked Bill.

"He- Are you saying- _Peter Pettigrew _is- He has our babies?" asked Molly softly, staring at Sirius in horror.

"Impossible! He died in the Fiendfyre that day! I saw the file myself! I wrote it!" argued Fabian angrily.

"And I've accessed all the records, I had to know," said Amelia, shaking her head at Sirius.

"He was an Animagus," said Sirius bitterly, "He could have-

And then Remus walked back in. He still had a wild, angry look to him. His eyes, the soft amber Ginny had thought were safe, were on fire. His fists were clenched and he looked as though he was restraining himself in every manner. Remus glared at the letter, shocking Charlie, who dropped it before Remus looked away

"He staged it," said Remus in a low, feral growl, "He pulled one over us, and we fell for it."

"You mean- It's all a lie?" asked Augusta, looking as though the wind had been taken out of her, and she diminished to look like an old little lady.

"Keep reading," said Selene firmly, "There has to be more."

"W- Wo- Wormy is our Uncle," said Charlie, stumbling as Sirius and Remus sat down on a couch beside each other and glared and ground their teeth.

"Uncle! He's their Uncle?!" shrieked Molly in horror.

"Our parents all died when we were babies and so Wormy took us in," said Charlie as fast as he could, as everyone's eyes grew wide, and jaws fell over the room.

"No thanks to the back-stabbing two-faced son of a bitch Death-Eater!" shouted Sirius, getting up, before Remus tugged him back down.

"Wormy isn't too nice," continued Charlie, as everyone muttered angry things, "But I like Winky and Dobby."

"Winky and Dobby? Are those code names?" asked Fabian to himself.

"Sounds more like house elf names," said Amelia, wondering if she could find their indenture records.

"We don't have lots of money either. Ron complains about it all the time, when he thinks nobody's listening," said Charlie, smiling a bit as he read about his brother.

"That's evident," snorted Augusta, glaring at the clothing in the picture.

"But Ron and Susan and Winky and Dobby always make sure that we get what we want," said Charlie, a frown on his face as he wondered what the kids were missing and all the money his family had gotten because Ron was- or had been- dead.

"What do they want?" asked Percy curiously, wondering if he could share his toys with them,

"I don't want lots. Just things to read. Susan's magazines are boring, and Ron and Harry and Neville don't read," said Charlie with a chuckle, "So all I really want is a subscription to the Quibbler."

"Oh baby," said Xeno softly, "You are the Quibbler."

"She loves it, Xeno she does," said Selene, gripping his arm tightly as he slid beside his wife and stared at Charlie.

"But I have no money. Harry said I should just not ask for it. Harry never asks for anything!" said Charlie, and both Sirius and Remus seemed to stop looking angry as their eyes softened to the happy little boy in the picture.

"So different from James, sounds just like Lily, eh Moony?" asked Sirius softly.

"Why doesn't he ask?" asked Remus carefully.

"But that's because Harry says he's not a baby. I'm not one either! But Harry doesn't like it when Ron worries about money- Susan 'splained it to me," said Charlie.

"Splained?" asked Augusta with a frown at the boy.

"It's how it's spelled," said Charlie, pointing to the letter. "Ron worries about money lots. Susan says it's because he's a wart. He doesn't look like a wart to me."

"He shouldn't be worrying about money!" said Arthur, his eyes tight as he held Ginny closer. Bill squeezed Molly's shoulders as she began to sob again.

"He's alive mum," reassured Bill, as he noticed a muscle jumping in Fabian's jaw.

"But Neville says people can be really nice. The lady one day gave Neville seeds he wanted to grow tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes!"

"He likes gardening?" said Augusta incredulously, staring at the boy with a bit of mirth in her eyes and shock.

"So I was wondering if you would give me some magazines. You know, any extra ones you have. Please. Dobby says you need to say please when you ask for things."

"Well trained," said Augusta approvingly. "Mannered children."

"Is there a return address?" demanded Amelia, and everyone stared as Charlie looked at the envelope.

"Yeah," said Charlie, "But I don't understand it. It's an address."

"Let me see kid," said Fabian, taking the envelope and nodding to everyone. "I'll search this place in the ministry."

"After the letter!" ordered Selene, before nudging Charlie.

"That would make my Christmas! If you can't do that, it's okay. Please and thank you!" said Charlie, "Love, Luna and Susan."

He stopped speaking, and everyone stared at the picture. Nobody said anything as they let it sink in. Arthur stood up first, and looked at Ginny. Her eyes were wet with tears. She only just understood, and finally, she hugged her daddy as she asked him, loud enough for all to hear, "When is Ron coming home?"

Arthur glanced at the room, and then sighed as he said, "I don't know Ginny dear. I don't know."

"Take the kids to bed Arthur," said Molly softly, as they began to loudly protest.

"I'll take them upstairs," said Bill, giving his brother's a look as he took Ginny from his father's arms.

"We have things to discuss here," said Amelia.

The Weasley kids traipsed upstairs, despite the early hour on Christmas day. Nobody moved as they stared at the picture in the centre of the room. They heard the thudding of the steps, when the final light pitter patters faded away. Everyone was silent.

"So- Do we believe this?" asked Fabian to the silent room. And nobody knew what to say.


End file.
